The Journey of Two Souls
by Aleja21
Summary: Hey everyone CHAPTER 20 is up so pls. check it out. This story starts with the pilot episode but then goes AU. This is a story about Kara & Lee's relationship, with a few others also getting mentioned. Warning chaps 11 & 20 contain some mature stuff.
1. The Journey Begins

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the BSG characters, they belong to someone way smarter than little ole me. So please read and enjoy, reviews would be very welcome, so send me a line.

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Story: This story is AU due to the fact that I've only seen the Pilot three hour episode and then I believe that they were the last two episodes of season 1. So I've chosen to take some writers incentive and I hope you like it. This story will mainly focus on Kara and Lee and there relationship.

Kara Thrace was pacing around the brig and was itching to get out of her cell. Today is the day of the Galactica's decommissioning ceremony, and she was supposed to be in the pilots quarters changing into her flight suit and then heading down to do her pre-flight checks on her Viper, but instead she'd let her temper get the better of her yet again and punched Col. Tigh. So now instead of flying with her squadron she was grounded and was awaiting the inevitable, Commander Adama coming in with a disappointed look on his face telling her that Col. Tigh would be pressing assault charges. Lee had already come by to give her a piece of his mind and damn the urge to hit him had also been there, but Lee had been lucky the cell bars had been in her way. When Lee left he'd had a stupid grin on his face, and Kara couldn't help but remember their days at the academy when he would look at her the same way during one of their arguments. Since they were roommates back then they always seemed to fight about the stupidest things.

Kara finally sat down on the floor just as Commander Adama started his speech for the decommissioning ceremony. As she listened to it being broadcasted throughout the ship his words brought back the painful memories of Zak's funeral, and when she thought of that day a single tear slid down her face. To this day she still blamed herself for his death, if she hadn't of passed him in Basic Flight the man she was to have married would still be alive. Also if that fateful accident hadn't of happened the rift between the two remaining Adama men would never have grown to such large proportions. While listening to this speech she decided she would tell both men the truth, even though she suspected that the elder knew already.

As the day progressed her day and everyone else's seemed to get worse when the news came through, that Caprica and the other colonies had been destroyed, so because of the remaining fleets need of trained pilots Kara was released from the brig. The remainder of her day passed in a blur. She vaguely remember the rest of the day, at some point she'd confessed the truth to Lee about his brothers death, and later even saved his life. That night after the remaining fleet had successfully jumped to temporary safety Col. Tigh made a quick appearance in the pilot's quarters to tell her that she'd done a great job flying and that he wasn't going to press charges because the fleet needed all of its pilots, so she was now officially no longer grounded. After that conversation Kara finished smoking her stogie, grabbed a towel and the rest of the things she needed for a quick shower. When she stepped out of the shower she literally ran into Sharon who was on her way into the one next to her.

" That was some great flying you did today Starbuck." Sharon said.

" Thanks Boomer, you did well yourself." Kara answered.

" You mean for a rookie?"

" No, I mean for any pilot. You did well, you kept your cool, did your job and saved lives."

" Thanks Starbuck."

" Not a problem, well later kid I'm going to get some sleep."

When Kara returned to the bunk room she found Lee changing out of his flight suit at the locker next to hers. " Hey Apollo." she said as she put her stuff away and pulled out two tank tops and her sweatpants. She then took off her towel and started dressing not really caring who might be watching.

" Hey yourself. Thanks for saving my ass out there." he told her turning towards her with a sly grin on his face. " Not that I need to boost your ego or anything but dad's right you are the best pilot."

" Your welcome, we're even. Consider today payback for when you saved my as in the academy, when my flight controls failed." Starbuck replied. She then pulled the covers back on her bunk and crawled in willing herself to fall asleep in hopes that she would soon forget the cold. The Galactica had never been a warm ship, something to do with its size and the amount of fuel it would take to heat such a huge vessel. But now that they are on the run and that fuel is such a big and valuable commodity it has been decided that the amount of fuel used to heat the water on the Galactica needs to be reduced so that at best all you could get was a lukewarm shower.

When Lee finished changing he turned around wanting to ask Kara something, however what he found put a smile on his face. There she lay the woman who had haunted most of his dreams since adolescents curled up in a tiny ball in the middle of her bunk. Since she was asleep he closed his locker and then climbed into the bunk

above hers. Once he was comfortable he thought over the days events, he couldn't believe his mother was dead he'd just seen her two days ago and now he'd never see her or his home again. It was all gone, the whole situation just seemed surreal.


	2. The beginning of change

First off I still don't own any of the characters. Secondly thank you for those who've sent me reviews. Thirdly if you have any ideas or suggestions for what could happen please drop me a line.

Over the next few weeks life on the Galactica was utter chaos pilots and maintenance crews were working double and triple shifts in order to provide relative security and make much needed repairs. During this time period Lee spent more time in his office as the CAG or up on the CIC instead of in a Viper and it was really getting to him. He was tired and very much on edge most nights he fell asleep at his desk, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd actually slept in his own bunk.

knock, knock 

When he heard the knocking on his door he looked up from his paperwork. " Enter"

" Hey boss, thought you could use what passes for a decent meal around here." Kara said holding up a bottle containing the nutritional supplement that the entire crew had been living off of.

" Thanks." Lee replied taking it from her.

" So do plan on running yourself into the ground?" Kara asked him her voice laced full of concern. " Lee I understand if you don't want to be around after what I told you a few weeks ago but the rest of this crew needs you to be their CAG." She said her voice holding small traces of sorrow.

" Kara this" he said gesturing around himself " has nothing to do with what you told me. I don't blame you for Zak's death. You have been my best friend for more years than I sometimes care to remember. Even if I wanted to which I don't I couldn't hate you." he then got up from his desk picking up file and walking towards her. " Here read this, this is what I've been working on all day." he said as he handed her the file folder.

Kara took it and read the files contents " You've got to be frakking kidding me! Me teach a bunch of civilians how to fly a viper. Are you out of your frakking mind? Or have you already forgotten that I got Zak killed? Why do you think I never taught another Basic Flight class after his death, even when they asked me to come back as a guest speaker I wouldn't because of what happened." When she finished ranting tears were streaming down his face.

Lee pulled her into his arms whipping the tears away. "Kara I am assigning this job to you because you are the best pilot I have. I've talked this over with my father and he agrees with me. You can't keep running from the past, it will catch up with you. You're the one that taught me that. I believe in you, and I know that you can teach these people how to be damn good viper pilots." he then hugged her long and hard.

" Fine, since it's obvious you and your father have lost your minds I'll teach the Basic Flight class, but if I were you I 'd pray to the gods that I don't screw this up like I do everything-else in my life."

Lee pulled away from her slightly and took his hand and tilted her face upwards so that she was looking him directly in the eyes. " Kara everything will be fine I believe in you." he said before he lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. But soon the kiss became more intense and they were clinging to each-other as if their lives depended on it.They were so engrossed in the kiss that they were sharing that they didn't even here the knock on the door, the door open and the intruder cleared his throat. When they heard the coughing sound they sprang apart, when Kara turned and saw who the intruder was she started blushing, turned and ran out of Lee's office sidestepping the man in her way.

Sorry for the cliff hanger but I couldn't resist. But I'll update soon I promise, I'm already working on the next chapter.


	3. The TALK !

First off I still don't own any of the characters. Secondly **thank you** for those who've sent me reviews. Thirdly if you have any ideas or suggestions for what could happen please drop me a line. And Last of all I'd like to apologize for the delay in this chap. but I had to help with the renovations at my house and that ate up most of my weekend.

" Sir" Lee said his voice laced with some trepidation.

" Relax son" Commander Adam said smiling at his son. " I'm not here as the commander of this vessel but as your father. I've been worried about you."

" I'm fine just tired and wishing that I could find the time to get into a viper and fly. It feels like I haven't flown in years, oh and did I ever tell you I HATE PAPERWORK."

" You don't have to, I used to fly vipers myself. So what are your intentions towards Kara.?" his father asked with a knowing smirk on his face.

A blush crept up the sides of Lee's neck, "dad I don't know what to say."

" How about you start with the fact that you love her."

" But... how did... I mean... I just..."

" Lee I've seen many a man fall in love. But usually it doesn't take him years to do it. You started falling for around the time both of you joined the academy."

" You're right but then she fell in love with Zak, and I figured I'd lost my chance with her. But now considering everything that's happened I don't even know if we have a chance."

The older Adama pondered the situation for a moment " If you truly love eachother which I believe you do, then everything will work out in due time."

" Thanks dad."

" Alright, go to the officers mess get some food, then join the others for their game night or get some sleep and that's a direct order."

" Yes, Sir." Lee answered giving his father a salute.

After his father had left Lee took a quick a shower and then went in search of Kara. His first stop was the pilots quarters, but she wasn't their so he then went to the flight deck but according to Cally, Kara hadn't been back since her shift had ended. The last place he looked was the mess hall, and sure enough that's where he found her beating a couple of maintenance guys in a rowdy game of cards. Lee walked into the room and then stood up against the wall watching the scene in front of him. Kara was laughing, she had a half smoked cigar in one hand and a handful of cards in the other. He watched her as she argued with one of the guys about placing a bet. The next thing that happened made him laugh, Kara took the cards that were in her hand and laid them down on the table and said " Full Colors" with a gloating grin on her face as she collected her winnings.

Lee decided that it was now time for him to make his move. " Hey do you have room for another player?" Lee asked the group.

" Sure sir, pull up a chair. Maybe with another player in the mix we can maybe win some of our money back"

" I wouldn't count on it." Kara said smugly.

So over the next couple of hours they played cards. When the game was over Lee and Kara started walking to the pilots quarters together. " So what did the old man say?" Kara asked, nervously chewing on her lip.

" Nothing much really, he just asked me what my intentions are towards you?" Lee told her deciding honesty would be the best policy.

" What? Oh god." she exclaimed shaking her head and hiding her face in her hands. " So what did you tell him?" she asked her voice muffled by her hands.

Lee stopped both of them and then turned grasping Kara's arm, also turning her so that they were face to face. He then gently took both of her hands into his own so that she was looking directly at him. " I told my father the truth, even though he already knew. I told him that I was in love with you."

Kara stood still, she was in complete shock, she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. " Kara say something" Lee said his voice unsteady.

" You love me?" she asked searching his eyes for clarification.

Not knowing just how to tell her, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He poured all of his emotions and everything that he felt for her into that kiss hoping that it would be enough. When he pulled back, and looked into her eyes he saw a sparkle that hadn't been there since Zak had died. Without saying anything Kara took one of Lee's hands into her own and led the way to his office. Once they were inside she locked the door, then both of them sat down on the chairs that were available. " The reason why I came here is because we need to talk and I'd prefer to do it without an audience. I guess I'll start, you took me a little by surprise with your confession. But I'm glad that you told me. You and I have been best-friends since your parents found me and took me in when I was five. You've been their for me through both my ups and downs, you've seen me when I'm at my best and when I'm at my worst. You except me for who I am and don't judge me because I'm not your average female and for that I have to thank you. But that's not all, I was fine with us just being friends or at-least I thought I was, but ever since the war started its reiterated the fact that life is to short. Being with you daily has also shown me, that what I feel for you is a lot more than simple friendship. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you too."

When Lee heard her say those words he let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He was just so thankful that she felt the same way.


	4. TEARS ! TEARS ! and more TEARS!

First off I still don't own any of the characters. Secondly **thank you** for those who've sent me reviews. Thirdly if you have any ideas or suggestions for what could happen please drop me a line. And Last of all I'd like to apologize for the delay in this chap. but I had some trouble figuring out what would happen next, then I noticed that Sci-Fi channel was showing the season again and when I saw last Fri. episode I came up with this idea. Also I apologize for this chapter being slightly short but my muse has left me. So if you have any suggestions please let me know.

Two days after Lee and Kara had confessed their feelings for one another Kara was standing in the Pilots Quarters pulling out her dress uniform. As she pulled it out she realized that she'd been wearing this uniform far to often recently. Today would be a hard memorial service for her to attend. Today's service was for the souls lost on the Olympic Carrier, even though she knew in her mind that she'd done the right thing by shooting at the vessel. In her heart she still wondered if she was in-part responsible for the death of those people.

" Hey are you ready to go" Sharon asked walking up to Kara and buttoning the top to her own uniform.

" As ready as I'll ever be." Kara sighed closing her locker.

" Kara what happened wasn't your fault. You followed orders, that's our job as Colonial Warriors." Sharon said " When we covered this at the academy you excelled at it."

" Sharon this isn't the academy! I shot down drones during Viper Training not ships carrying 1300 human lives, meaning if their were people involved I am responsible." Kara said her voice filled with pain. " So lets just get this ceremony over and done with, because as soon as its done I have a date with my Viper and a 4 hour long patrol."

So together they walked through the halls of the Galactica all the way to the Hanger Bay that used to be the gift shop. The Ceremony lasted an hour and during that hour President Roslin, The Priestess, Commander Adama and Lee all gave speeches, each conveying their heartfelt sorrow. As soon as the ceremony was over Kara made her excuses and hoped to make a quick exit.

" Lt. Thrace may I have a word with you?"

Kara turned around and found herself face to face with President Roslin " Yes ma'am, how can I help you?" she asked hoping she was being polite enough.

" I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work in recent weeks and also for what you did concerning the Olympic Carrier."

" With all due respect ma'am, I'm just following orders just like every other Colonial Warrior in this fleet. Also I'm in no position to voice my opinion at this point in time on what happened with the Olympic Carrier." Kara stated hoping this conversation would end soon.

" Why can't you voice your opinion Lt.?"

" Why? I'm a frakking Lt. in the Colonial Military, I voice my opinions openly and I'll end up in the hack. So considering what's going on around us tell me where am I more needed. In a cockpit or in the hack? You tell me." Kara asked before turning around and leaving the hanger. Once she made it back to the Pilots Quarters she tore open the top of her dress uniform and through it into her locker. She then collapsed on her bunk and started crying. After she'd shed her last tear, she finished changing into her flight suit and headed towards the hanger deck to do her pre-flight inspection.

" So chief how's my baby doing?" Kara asked Chief Tryol pointing to her Viper.

" Your Viper is doing good, I just finished looking her over."

" Thanks chief, but I hope you don't mind if I give her a quick once over."

" Starbuck, I'd be worried if you didn't." the chief replied chuckling, then walking off.

Gift Shop/ Hanger/ Flight Deck

" Excuse me Lt. have you seen Starbuck?" Lee asked Boomer.

" No sir, she told me before we came here though that she had a scheduled patrol this afternoon." Sharon told him.

" Thanks." Lee told her before leaving for the flight deck. When he got their he caught sight of her coming around the back of her Viper.

" Kara, are you ok?" Lee asked her, once he was next to her.

" I'll live. Look I don't want to cut this short but I'm supposed to launch in 5 min." Kara said placing her hand on his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze.

During the Patrol

" You're kinda quiet over their Starbuck, you ok?"

" I'm fine Tailspin. Today's just bin a long day." Starbuck replied.

" You went to the service didn't you?"

" Yeah, I prayed for forgiveness."

" I'm sure you've heard this a million times in the last couple of weeks, but you're not responsible."

" How can you say that, I pulled the frakking trigger that helped destroy that damn ship." Kara cried out in anguish. " Look can we drop this, I'm sick of talking about this."

" Sure." Tailspin replied wishing he could help his friend/mentor through her pain.

Hanger Deck

" Did anything go wrong?" Callie asked.

" No, everything went fine. Could you do me a favor." Kara asked.

" Sure Lt. what can I do for you?"

" Could you finish the post flight check without me?"

" Not a problem ma'am."

Kara quickly stowed her flight gear in her locker and headed to Lee's office hoping she'd find him their. She didn't even bother knocking instead, she just opened the door. Lee looked up in surprise, but when he realized who it was he got up from his desk. Meanwhile Kara locked his office door, she then walked over to Lee who then embraced her in a tight hug as she shed some more tears for that day.


	5. Heart 2 Heart with the President

First off I still don't own any of the characters. Secondly **thank you** for those who've sent me reviews. Thirdly if you have any ideas or suggestions for what could happen please drop me a line. And Last of all I'd like to apologize for the delay in this chap. but I had some trouble figuring out what would happen next. Also I'd like to say 'THANK YOU!' to CJ JADE and DARLIAN for their suggestions and ideas for what could happen next. You two have been a great help!

Two days after the memorial service Kara was laying on her bunk when their was a knock on the door of the pilots quarters. The door then opened and Specialist Dee Dualla stuck her head into the room.

" Sorry to disturb you Lt. but the Commander wants to see you up in the CIC. Also you are to report in your formal uniform not your flight suit." Dee told her upon entering the room.

" Do you know why?" Kara asked the young woman, giving her, her undivided attention.

" Not sure, I just know that I was supposed to get you." Dee replied " Do you want me to wait for you?"

" Na, but thanks."

Once Dee had left Kara quickly changed into her uniform and left her quarters. On the way to the CIC she ran into Lee. " Hi" she said to him smiling.

" Hi, yourself" he said back " so where are you going all dressed up?" he asked her.

" I was told to report to the CIC immediately." Kara replied. " Do you know what's going on?"

" Actually I do. President Roslin told the Commander about the conversation the two of you had." Lee told her cautiously " So at the risk of getting punched by you might I suggest you apologize to her."

" I guess I could do that" she sighed.

" You can, and apologizing doesn't make you weak." he said, then looking up and down the hall to make sure no one was around he quickly placed a kiss on her lips. " Damn you're a bad influence on me." he said grinning, he then turned around and headed off towards the flight deck briefing room.

Kara turned and headed towards the CIC at a quick pace. " Lt. Thrace reporting as ordered sir." Kara said as she saluted Commander Adama upon reaching him. She then turned to his left " Madam President" she said acknowledging Laura Roslin.

" At ease Lt." Adama said then motioned for both women to follow him to the CIC briefing room, once everyone was inside " Lt. when the president is finished with you, I would like to see you in my office. I that understood Lt.?"

" Sir yes sir." Kara replied, thinking her day was going to go downhill from here on out. Once the Commander was out of the room Kara turned toward the president " Madam President I would like to apologize for my behavior after the ceremony."

" You have nothing to apologize for Lt. These times are trying and difficult, so it is understandable that under that strain you would break. Now Lt. please have a seat." the president said pointing to the chair directly across from hers. " I want to tell you the same thing that I told Cpt. Apollo, the Olympic Carrier incident is NOT your fault, yes you may gave pulled the trigger, but ultimately the blame should not lie on your shoulders even if you are feeling guilt."

" Ma'am you spoke to Cpt. Adama about this?" Kara asked.

" Yes, he was also having some difficulty facing his responsibility. The Cpt. and I had a short conversation."

" I truly appreciate your advice, but I think I'll be ok, I have other demons in my closet that I have to deal with, one more won't hurt." Kara said sincerely.

**Sorry this Chapter is so short but I hope you like anyway.**


	6. Kara takes a stroll down memory lane

First off I still don't own any of the characters. Secondly **thank you** for those who've sent me reviews. Thirdly if you have any ideas or suggestions for what could happen please drop me a line. And Last of all I'd like to apologize for the delay in this chap. but I had some trouble figuring out what would happen next. Also I'd like to say 'THANK YOU!' to CJ JADE and DARLIAN for their suggestions and ideas for what could happen next. You two have been a great help!

Kara walked into the pilots quarters after her talk with the President and Commander Adama, and went directly over to her locker, she then pulled out a photo-album. She took off the top to her dress uniform and sat down on her bunk with her legs crossed. With the album on her legs she carefully opened the book containing the only tangible evidence of her life and existence on Caprica. The first picture in the album was of Kara with the Adama's the day the courts had decided that they were to become her legal guardians. The picture had been taken in-front of the Adama house, which had been located on the outskirts of Caprica City.

_FLASHBACK_

_Kara couldn't believe that she was actually part of a family. The Adama's had taken her into their home, and she was completely filled with joy._

_" Come on Kara you're it I tagged you!" Exclaimed Lee as he stood in the front yard of the house. _

_" Ok, I'm gonna get you." Kara yelled back chasing after him._

_While she chased Lee the boy who was with out a doubt her best friend she quickly looked onto the porch and saw Caroline Adama watching her, whilst holding a squirming little boy who was trying to escape her grasp. " Down mommy, want down." she could here Zak say to his mother._

_" Ok, you two come over here I want get at-least one picture of this entire family before the day is over." said William Adama to the two children as he set up a camera in-front of the house._

_" Everyone please stand on the porch steps so that I can focus the camera and set the timer." he then added as he tinkered with the camera._

_END-FLASHBACK_

Kara couldn't help but smile at that bittersweet memory. The hardest part about the destruction of her home-world had been the loss of her only true mother. She continued looking through the book until she came upon another picture that brought on fond memories, it was the day that she got to fly for the very first time. The day had been dubbed Military Family Day, it had been a new Semi- Holiday that was implemented so that members of the Colonial Military could take their children to work with them for the day, so the children could see what it is that their parents do. So she, Lee and Zac had been taken to the Military Launch Base that was located roughly an hour away from Caprica City. From their they'd been flown by Raptor on to the Battlestar Galactica to see their father for the day.

_FLASHBACK_

_" Wow this is so cool!" Kara exclaimed excitedly as she stepped on board the Raptor that was to take her to the Galactica. She had been so excited the night before that she had lain in her bed wide awake the whole night waiting for morning to come._

_" Yeah, it is." Lee told her in awe. " I can't wait until I can become a Viper pilot just like my dad." he then added with pride in his voice._

_" I want to be a Viper pilot too." Kara told him. _

_" Alright when we finish with school we'll both join the Academy and get into the flight program. We'll help each-other along the way in whatever way we can, so that we can both graduate at the top of our class." Lee suggested._

_" I like that, you have yourself a deal" she said sticking out her small hand in-front of her so that Lee could shake her hand._

_" Can I be a pilot to?" Zac asked having sat quietly next to them._

_" You can be anything you want to be." Kara told him. " Once you're old enough and you still want to become a pilot Lee and I will help you full fill your dream as well."_

_" Ok" Zac replied smiling at the other two._

_So together the three of them had explored the world of the Galactica._

_END-FLASHBACK_

The memories of her childhood were fond ones.

_FLASHBACK_

_After she had been taken in by the Adama's they had made her feel welcome, allowed her to develop into the person she was truly meant to be, they guided her and showed her that with hard work she could accomplish anything that she wanted to. With this determination Kara poured herself into her school work and studies, determined to get the best grades possible so that she could enter the Academy. When she wasn't studying her school books she and Lee would be sitting up in their tree-house reading and studying the dynamics of flight, how Raptors worked and how Vipers worked. They would go through the schematics of these lovely machines and try to gain as much knowledge as was humanly possible._

_Then came the day that they had both received their letters telling them that they'd been accepted to the Academy. It had been an unusually warm summer day, they had both had, had the day off from their summer jobs. They had spent it on the beach with several of their friends. When they came home Caroline handed both of them their respective envelopes, waiting for them to open them._

_" Well what are you two waiting for. You've been waiting for them for weeks." Caroline said._

_" I don't think I can, what if I didn't get in?" Kara answered the woman who'd raised her._

_" Why wouldn't you, you've worked long and hard to get in." Caroline replied soothingly._

_" Kara why don't we exchange envelopes, and open each-others." Lee suggested._

_" Ok" Kara answered thrusting her envelope at him. He of-course then gave her his envelope. They then open each-others letters at the same time._

_" You got in" they both said at the same time._

_Then a few weeks later they both packed up their respective bags and left home for the Colonial Military Academy and Flight School. _

_END-FLASHBACK_

The picture that Kara was know looking at had been taken during their first weeks at the Academy, each cadet was told to have their picture taken so that it could be used for the yearbook and be sent home to their respective families. They had posed separately for their yearbook picture but had requested that in the one that was to be sent to their parents that they would be able to be in it together. Kara also remembered seeing a copy of this very picture in the Commanders quarters the last time that she had visited him there.


	7. Stricking Another Superior AHOLE!

First off I still don't own any of the characters. Secondly **thank you** for those who've sent me reviews. Thirdly if you have any ideas or suggestions for what could happen please drop me a line. And Last of all I'd like to apologize for the delay in this chap. but I had some trouble figuring out what would happen next. Also I'd like to say 'THANK YOU!' to CJ JADE and DARLIAN for their suggestions and ideas for what could happen next. You two have been a great help!

Over the next few days life went back to normal for Kara, but of-course peace and quiet was a short lived thing these days. No sooner had she gotten her life back on track, came the next curve ball. This time it was the hostage situation on the prison barge. So off she'd gone with the Marines, to go save the people who are her family and save the man she loves. Things had gone partially according to plan except for the fact that Lee had gotten in her way when she'd been ready to take her shot at Tom Zarek. So yes the situation had been resolved but she was still lived. As soon as the Raptor had landed on the flight deck Kara had handed her rifle of to the Master of Arms and had made a hasty retreat. The deck-crew knew the warning signs and gave her a wide berth as she went, so did the other crew members of the Galactica as went past them. She stormed into the pilots quarters, once inside she tore at her uniform and through it onto her bunk, she then opened her locker and put on a pair of sweats, her standard pt double tank and her running shoes. She then grabbed her discarded uniform off of her bed and through it into her locker before slamming it shut.

Kara stepped back into the corridor, she didn't even bother with her usual warm-up stretches but instead just took off running. Not focusing on her usual goal of finding time to think things through and enjoyment, but instead to days main objective was to run as fast and hard as she could. Anyone who got in her way be damned. All she wanted to do was push herself way past the point of exhaustion so that she wouldn't end up in the brig for doing something stupid.

The next morning Kara was still livid. She went to the staff meeting praying that the powers that be would leave her alone because she new that her temper was in a very precarious state, due to the fact that even though she had been exhausted the night before after having run for nearly 2 1/2 hours and then taken a shower, she'd barely slept. Today seemed to be her lucky day, nothing in the meeting pertained to her directly nor would it need her undivided attention. So as soon as she could Kara made her exit, hoping she could avoid Lee.

" Starbuck, wait up." Lee said heading for her.

Kara turned to face him " With all do respect Captain Frak Off!" she told him a politely as she could and then turned on her heal heading in her previous direction.

Lee caught up with her and started walking next to her " So what have I done know, that's pissed you off?" he asked curiously.

" If you have to ask it truly doesn't matter." she replied walking into the chow hall. " So if you could let me eat in peace so that, I don't end up losing my appetite, I'd really appreciate it."

" What's going on?" he said grabbing ahold on her arm.

" Get your frakking hand of my arm" Kara said her temper reaching boiling point " Because let me tell you right know I have the urge to strike another superior asshole." she said looking at him pointedly.

But as things would have it Lee just wouldn't get the hint to leave her alone so, like she'd warned she turned to face and as she did, she punched Lee square on the jaw using her famous right hook and all the strength that she possessed in her entire body. Lee of-course never knew what hit him because he crumpled to the chow hall floor. All the usual hustle and bustle of the chow ceased immediately at this site, Kara on the other hand walked out of the chow hall and headed straight for the brig because she knew that as soon as this news hit the CIC she'd be sent there anyway so she may as well safe the Marines the trip in looking for her.

CIC

" Sir, there has been a report of an incident in the Chow Hall, sir" Specialist Dualla reported to Commander Adama.

" What kind of incident?"

" Well, sir it would seem that Starbuck..."

" What has she done know?" sighed Col. Tigh.

" As I was saying sir, it would seem that Starbuck and Cpt. Adama were in some form of altercation sir, and from what the reports say it would seem that she knocked the Captain out sir. He's currently unconscious and being transported to the Life Station."

" You have the CIC." William said turning to face Saul before leaving for the Life Station to find out what in the hell had just happened.

Life Station

" So would you care to tell me what happened?"

" Whose asking the father in you or the commander?" Lee asked in return.

" Both. The commander in me is wondering why my lead pilot assaulted her CAG and the father in me is wondering why the woman I love as if she were my own daughter decided knock my son out cold." the older Adama replied.

" To tell you the truth I don't know what I did to frakking piss her off. All I know is that when we got back from the Astral Queen yesterday she was pissed and she's been avoiding me since. So when I confronted her about it this morning she told me to get lost. i tried stopping her and she told me to let go of her arm or she'd deck me, obviously since I'm now lying here I didn't move fast enough." Lee told his father honestly.

" Well, I've talked to Maj. Cottle and according to him you might have a slight concussion so you're grounded for the next two days. After which he'll re-examin you to determine your flight status. Also he wants to keep you for 24 hour observation so don't even think of leaving."

" Sir, yes sir." Lee told his father, but before his father could Lee grabbed his arm " Sir, I won't be pressing charges."

" Are you sure?"

" With all due respect sir, the Galactica isn't big enough to keep me safe from a pissed of Starbuck. Plus I value my life way to much, and if today has tought me anything that's don't piss her off and if you do learn to duck fast. Also I don't want to live my life constantly looking over my shoulder."

" Is that all?" William asked chuckling. " Ok, but I am going to leave her in the brig until she cools off, for everyones safety." he then added before leaving.

BRIG

Walking into the brig he tried to remember how many times in the last two years he'd come in her because of her, only to realize he'd stopped somewhere around the 15th time during her first year onboard. Granted she'd gotten better as the time had passed. Walking up to her cell he asked her " So what do you here Starbuck?"

" Nothing but the rain, sir" Kara replied getting up from her bunk and standing at Parade Rest.

" So grab your gun, and bring in the cat."

" Boom Boom Boom. Kara replied."

" Stand At-ease, Lt. So would you please care to explain to me why you felt the need to put the CAG in the Life Station." Adama asked her calmly.

" There is no excuse for my actions sir. So I accept what ever charges and punishment will be brought forth, for my disrespectful behavior." Kara replied.

" What this Kara?"

" Sir, I've had some time to do some thinking while I was sitting here. Also sir with all due respect, I don't think I should try to gain special favors just because I'm in a personal relationship with your son or the fact that you've raised me as your daughter. Sir, I appreciate that you've tried to help in the past but, with what we are know facing I am no more important or valuable than the other men and women aboard this ship."

" Very well, Cpt. Adama won't be pressing assault charges so I won't put an official reprimand in your record, however, you will be assisting Chief Tyrol with repairs when you aren't scheduled to fly. Is that clear Lt." he asked her.

" Yes, sir." Kara replied.

" When are you scheduled to fly again."

" In a 4 hours" she replied looking at her watch.

" The Marines will release you in time for you to make your scheduled patrol, also because Cpt. is grounded you'll be covering his patrols until he is returned to active flight status. So for the time being I'd suggest you'd better get some sleep."

" Yes, sir."

When her double shift had ended Kara looked over the flight schedule to find out when she'd be flying again. According to the schedule she'd be flying 1st and 3rd shift the next morning. Once she was aware of her next patrol, Kara made her way to the pilots quarters where she grabbed everything she would need for a quick and cold shower in the communal showering area. Once she'd freshened up she wore her pt uniform and decided to head to the Life Station because she knew that she couldn't but off talking with Lee any longer.

So Kara walked into the Life Station, where she then stopped the Specialist on duty and asked which bed Cpt. Adama was in. Once she reached the curtained off bunk she put her hand on the curtain and froze. Taking a deep breath she thought to herself No Gut No Glory she then let out the breath she'd been holing and opened the curtain.

" I was wondering if you were going to come and see me." Lee stated.

" Lee I'm sorry." Kara told him with sincerity.

" Then why did you do it?" he asked wanting to get to the bottom of this.

" I was angry and I snapped."

" Why were you so angry?"

" Why do think. Astral Queen ring a bell?" Kara asked sarcastically.

" What about it?"

" Oh, I don't know how about the fact that because of your dumb-ass Tom Zarek is still alive. If you hadn't gotten in my way I could have but a bullet right between his eyes. I mean he's a frakking terrorist Lee, what in the name of the lords were you thinking?" Kara said her anger returning.

" That is what all of this is about. Kara I couldn't let you do it. Even though I don't agree with what he's done, he does have rights. Hell we all do they're guaranteed to us by the Constitution."

" Fine."

" Kara I don't want to fight with you especially not about Tom Zarek, so can we just leave it to my having a lapse in my better judgment."

" Sure" she replied placing a kiss on his temple." Look Lee I hate to cut this short but I need to get some sleep. Before I go out on Patrol in the morning."

" Goodnight beautiful." Lee said to her giving her one of his dazzling smiles.

Kara just grinned right back as she left to get some shut eye.


	8. Hidden Feelings

First off I still don't own any of the characters. Secondly **thank you** for those who've sent me reviews. Thirdly if you have any ideas or suggestions for what could happen please drop me a line. And Last of all I'd like to apologize for the delay in this chap. but I broke my laptop and I had some difficulty finding another means of writing. Also I'd like to say 'THANK YOU!' to CJ JADE and DARLIAN for their suggestions and ideas for what could happen next. You two have been a great help!

* * *

After visiting Lee, Kara went back to the pilots quarters to get some sleep.

" Hey Starbuck, how are you doing?" Boomer asked her from where she was sitting on her bunk.

" I'm alright I guess, just a little tired." Kara said shrugging " How about you?"

" Things are fine, so what's this I hear about you landing in the hack again."

" Yeah well I hit another superior officer." Kara said shrugging.

" Who'd you hit?" Sharon asked her, since that little piece of information hadn't filtred down to her.

" The CAG." Kara replied.

" What! Why?"

" Not really sure. I just got really angry at him. I told him to leave me alone but he wouldn't, so I lashed out."

" Hey didn't anyone ever tell you that beating up your boyfriend and boss isn't a good idea. But I'm hoping that you already knew that. So why where you so pissed at him?"

Kara went went over to her locker and pulled out the picture of Lee, Zac and herself, that had been taped their since she came aboard. She then turned around and handed that picture to Sharon.

" So who's this standing next to you and Lee?" Sharon asked pointing to Zac.

" That was Zac, Lee's younger brother and my fiance..." Sharon looked up surprised by the last part, but before she could say anything Kara continued " Zac died because of me, I had a huge conflict of interest because we were dating and I was his flight instructer. I passed him when I knew he had no business being flying, so that means I'm responsible for his death..." Kara said tears streaming down her face " and know I almost shot the the man I love. I had a clear shot of Zarek, and then Lee just stood directly infront of him. If he had done that a few seconds later I would of shot him. All of this has made me realize that some of what my mother said when I was a child is true. She used to always tell me ' Kara you are poison you destroy everything that comes in contact with you'." Kara murmered the last part as she curled herself into a ball on her bunk.

" I don't know what to say Kara about what happened to Zac, but I do know this your mother was wrong you're not poison. You're a good person, your heart is in the right place and you care. Also, you're lucky, many people especially now would give anything to have what you have. You have a man who thinks of you and treats like his daughter, you have another man who is head over heals in love with you..." Sharon stated " don't sell yourself short, plus you have great friends like me." She then added sitting down on Kara's bunk and nugging her.

" Thanks Sharon."

" No sweat, and if you haven't told Lee maybe you should." Sharon suggested.

"Maybe I will." Kara replied.

The next morning Kara went for a quick run, she then showered and than barely made to the flight deck in time for her first patrol of the day. When she landed she stopped by the pilots quarters and grabbed a set of PT's from Lee's locker. She then headed to the Life Station, once their she through the PT's onto his bed.

" What are these for?" Lee asked curiously.

" Well, while I was here last night I asked the doc when you could leave today. So I thought I'd take my down time before my patrol in a couple hours to help you escape from here. And if you want to leave here in your hospital I'll put your PT's back in your locker." Kara said picking them up from where she had let them fall onto his bed.

" No that's ok" Lee said grabbing them from her hands " Are you done for the day?" He then asked as he started changing, not caring that she was in the room whilst he did this.

" I just flew your scheduled patrol from this morning and then mine is scheduled for third shift, and after that I'm helping Cally rebuild a raptor engine."

" Sounds like a busy day."

" It will be, you ready to go yet?" Kara asked a little impatiently.

" Sure but what's your rush?"

" I'll tell you once we get to your office."

So together they left the Life Station and headed towards Lee's office.

" Alright Kara what's going on?" Lee asked once they had locked the door and taken a seat.

" I kind of lied to you last night."

" About what?" Lee asked confused.

" About why I lashed out at you, yes in part I was mad at you. But I was also mad at myself and scared. I almost shot you on the Astral Qeen, actually no let me rephrase that I almost killed you. Lee, if you had of stepped infront of him a couple of seconds later, I'd have lost you..."

" But you didn't." Lee said pulling her into his arms.

" Dont you get it history almost repeated itself, first I killed Zac and know almost you."

" You didn't kill Zac or me. I'm sorry I never realized what my actions would do to you."


	9. The Calm and Then Comes The Storm Pt 1

First off I still don't own any of the characters. Secondly **thank you** for those who've sent me reviews. Thirdly if you have any ideas or suggestions for what could happen please drop me a line. And Last of all I'd like to apologize for the delay in this chap. but I had some trouble figuring out what would happen next. Also I'd like to say 'THANK YOU!' to Ano1971 without you this chap wouldn't of happend. Woman you Frakking ROCK!

* * *

Things actually started to smooth out with the happy couple. In the mornings they would try to run together whenever possible, and on their down time they were inseprebale. Several weeks had gone by and their relationship had grown stronger with each day, so one day Kara decided she wanted to do something nice for Lee. So she traded a few of her cigars and called in some of her IOU's from fellow card paying friends, in order to create a romantic evening for two. The next morning she set her plan into action.

" Hey handsome" Kara whispered into Lee's ear as she snuck hands around his waist.

" Morning" Lee replied placing a long, slow kiss on her lips.

" Don't make any plans for tonight. I've got a surprise for you, meet me here at 1800." she stated grinning and slipping a small piece of paper into his hand.

" What is it?" Lee asked her.

" If I told you it wouldn't be surprise, would it?" she returned slyly.

" But I hate surprises."

" I promise you'll love this." With that said she turned around and left his office.

Several hours later when Kara came in from her CAP, she quickly went to her quarters and grabbed a shower, she then headed for the room she'd told Lee to meet her in. She was till surprised she'd managed to get one of the private rooms for the night, since they're almost booked solid. Once inside Kara lit all the candles that she'd managed to gather, and put out the little real food she'd been able to get her hands on. Then last of all, she changed into one of the few civilian items that she owned. It was a light blue camisole that accentuated her eyes and her figure. She'd bought it on her last trip to Caprica before the war had started and had been waiting for the right reason to wear it.

Unfortunately, 1800 hours came and went, and Lee still hadn't shown up. Then around 1950 there was a small knock on the door, Kara got up and answered it, however it wasn't whom she'd hoped for. Instead she'd found Dee, " Can I help you with something Dee?" Kara asked her.

" Um... no sir, Capt. Adama just asked me to give you this." Dee replied giving Kara the not e she'd been carrying.

" Thank you Dee." Kara replied dismissing the Petty Officer and closing the door.

Once inside the room Kara sat back down on the couch and opened up the note.

**_ Kara,_**

_**I know you had something planned for tonight but I'm going to be late, I have some paperwork I want to get done tonight, it's not really pressing but you now me I hate to procrastinate to much. I'll stop by the room later.**_

_** Love,**_

_** Lee**_

When she'd finished the letter Kara went around the room and blew out the candles, she through Lee's note in the trash and changed back into her tanks. She then curled up on the couch and cried herself to sleep.

Around 2300 hours Lee entered the room wearily, what he found surprised him and made him feel a little guilty. He walked over to the couch and gently touched her arm. " Wake up, beautiful"

" Oh, so you finally showed up." Kara stated her voice filled with hurt.

" Look I'm sorry."

" You're sorry, I've spent the better part of a week organizing this for the one night we both have, for the next two weeks and you blow me off. You think an I'm sorry is going to cover that?"

" No. But I truly am sorry. " Lee pulled Kara into his arms and then gave her one of his bone melting kisses which in turn made her entire body feel like putty. But when she tried to take things to the next step, Lee stopped her. " Kara stop. We should wait a while, before we take things any farther. "

" Why?" Kara asked confused.

" Because we shouldn't rush this."

" Fine, come find me when you're ready." Kara replied disentangling herself from him. Next she finished getting dressed grabbed her things and left. when she entered the corridor she ran into Dr. Baltar and dropped her things. He in turn quickly knelt down and picked up her bag, " here you go Lt." he said giving the bag back to her.

" Thank you doctor."

Over the next few days Kara avoided Lee and at night she would be in the mess hall with assorted crew members playing cards, the crew members were fellow pilots, the deck crew, a couple people working in the CIC and of course the ever illustrious Dr. Baltar.

* * *

I hope you guys like this, enjoy.


	10. The Calm and Then Comes The Storm Pt 2

Disclaimer: Don't own them, but maybe Santa will give them to me for Christmas. Hope You enjoy. Please review that way I'll know if anyone actually like it. Also I want to thank my good friend Ano1971 because without her, this chap wouldnt exist.

* * *

A few days later Lee was thinking about how he'd hurt Kara, but he couldn't understand why she'd reacted the way she had when he stopped their kissing. In his mind he was rationalizing the situation as such. He'd stopped because he truly loves and cares for her. He doesn't want to rush into anything that could damage their new found relationship. He's waited most of his adult life to prove to her that he loves her and he wants everything to go perfectly.

Ok, so I'm over analyzing everything, but this is Kara, when she's cooled off we can talk and she'll understand where I'm coming from Lee thinks to himself as he lays on his bunk, looking at his copy of the picture that had been taken of the two of them their first year at the academy.

Meanwhile in another part of the Galactica, Kara had retreated to her favorite hiding/ thinking space that only the old man knew about. Kara was sitting there going through her emotional gauntlet. She'd gone from hurt to sad and know she was just down right frakking pissed at Lee. For the first time in her life she truly couldn't figure the man out, usually she could read him like a book, because he wears his emotions on his face. But for the life of her this time she was truly lost, it felt like she was flying through space completely blind with nothing to guide her. As she figures it most men, would of slept with her by know, but no not good ole Lee. One minute he could kiss her and bring her to the brink of an orgasm and the next he would stop cold as if nothing had happened, leaving her frustrated. Which in turn meant she was destined for a cold shower and or the manual relief she'd have to give herself.

Ok that's it Kara thought If he really wants me then he's going to have to make the next move. I've had enough of this. The ball is now in his court. Kara finally decided that this would be her only course of action.

Elsewhere onboard was a doctor who had know found himself a new blonde fixation. He imagined what he would do to her, and how he would ravish her body if the opportunity ever arose. He would imagine what it would feel like to touch that silky white skin he'd often caught glimpses of when she ran in her regulation tanks and shorts. Running his hands through her short blonde hair, and he dreamt of being inside her and making her scream his name. But alas it was still only a dream.

Several days after Kara had come to her conclusion on what would happen in their relationship, Kara was once again fleecing her fellow crew members in a fierce high stakes card game. The players were placing bets with socks, gum , books and whatever else they could find in their lockers. After winning a novel from Dee and the last of both Cally and Hotdogs hard candies Kara decided to call it a night. " Alright boys and girls, I'm going to call it a night. I'm on CAP in four hours and I need my beauty sleep." she said in all seriousness causing all of her buddies to double over with laughter.

Another member of the group also decided to call it a night at this point. " Lt. Thrace please wait a moment." the man asked walking towards her. Kara stopped but cringed on the inside, she had no desire to be near him, she thought he was a pompous ass who was slightly crazy and just down right creepy. But since the man did seem to have some form of importance to the fleet she put on a fake smile as she waited for him to catch up to her.

" Thank you for waiting Lt., is wondering if I could escort you to your quarters."

This shocked Kara, but she was just to frakking tired to care so she replied " Sure doctor. Even though its not really necessary."

" Well it's the gentlemanly thing to do. One should always walk a woman to her door." the doctor replied.

Right Kara thought, as the creepy sensation traveled down her spine.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Then at the door to the quarters Kara turned to him " Well this is my exit, thank you for walking me to my door." Kara said trying not to choke on her words.

" It was my pleasure" he replied taking her hand and placing a kiss on the top of it, then turning to leave for his own quarters.

Once he was out of side Kara open the hatch into the quarters, she was shell shocked she couldn't believe Dr. Gaius Baltar had just kissed her hand. So with out putting to much thought into it she headed straight for the sinks in the head and started scrubbing her hand trying to get rid of the dirty feeling that had settled there.

The next day around mid-morning Sharon walked over to Kara's bunk and woke her up. " Come on Kara get up." she urged.

Growling " Dam it Sharon, I just finished my Cap." Kara said when she realized who had, had the audacity to wake her up.

" Sorry Kara but the CAG called a mandatory meeting for ALL pilots ." Sharon said feeling for the other woman knowing she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before due to a long drown out card.

" Alright I'm up give me minute to change." Kara said not waiting for Sharon's reply. She then stumbled over to her locker and grabbed for a uniform, which she quickly put on. Afterwards she grabbed her hairbrush and yanked through her short hair twice before throwing it back inside her locker and slamming it shut.

So together the to women walked down to the flight deck in complete silence and then veered off to the pilots briefing room for the meeting. Once they were inside they made their way to the seats in the front of the room, talking, greeting and laughing with the other pilots as they passed them.

" Hey Starbuck do you know why the CAG called this meeting?" Hotdog asked Kara as he ambled over to them.

" How in the hell should I know Hotdog. I'm not the man's frakking secretary." Kara replied, annoyance clearly filing her voice.

As she said this Lee walked into the briefing room. Just as he passed through the fresh hold Kat turned around and noticed him walking in, so she stood at attention and called out " Capt. On deck." At the sound of those words the room became quiet as everyone scrambled to stand at attention. Lee just continued walking to the front of the room to stand behind the podium.

" Alright everybody take a seat. I called this meeting to inform all of you that in two days time there will be a Colonial Day celebration dance on board, which means all of you not on patrol will be in attendance. So yes that means attendance is mandatory…" as Lee said this groans could be heard through out the room coming from all of the senior pilots, who knew exactly what was going to come next. " this event will be for the members of the civilian government and all those of us who aren't lucky enough to be on duty…" this caused a few of the people in the room to chuckle. "Next I'm going to tell you the dress code for the night. Gentlemen you will be wearing your dress uniforms and they will be cleaned and pressed…" more groans were heard this time coming from just the male half of the room. " Ladies you have the option of either wearing a formal dress or you dress uniform for this occasion and if you decide to wear your dress uniforms they will also be clean and pressed. Now I'll get down to the part that you're all dying to here, the flight assignments go as follows: Boomer, Crashdown you will be flying on Raptor 2 because the Chief has informed me your usual Raptor will be out of the rotation foe a tune-up. Hotdog, Kat and Mad Dog you will be flying CAP that night and Striker, Ice Maiden and Dodger you will be on stand by, however that doesn't mean you can skip this function. Also for those of you who don't attend you will be cleaning the head with a toothbrush from top to bottom every day for a month and you'll be doing whatever other fun tasks I can come up with. For those of you now going on CAP good hunting, and the rest of you are dismissed." Lee told the squadron.

As the pilots started to leave they all began to grumble about having to dress up for some stupid function to make some civilians happy. Kara couldn't believe that her misfortune seemed to keep on growing. In fact she was wondering if she'd pissed of the Lords in some way, because now on top of everything else she has to find a formal dress for an event that she doesn't want to go to. In a way she was actually hoping that the Cylon's would attack so that she could get out of it. She returned to the pilots quarters and groaned when she looked at her bunk knowing she wouldn't be able to go to sleep anytime soon. So she walked over to her locker and quickly changed into her regulation tanks, sweat pants bottoms and her running shoes. Kara didn't even bother stretching she just stepped into the corridor and took off running. After having run for two and a half miles Kara found herself in front of the CIC. On a whim she quickly looked inside and noted that Dee was at her console. So she quickly stepped into the room walking along the trying not to attract attention to herself as she mad e her way to where Dee was sitting. When she got there " Dee you have a minute so that we can talk?" she asked one of her few close friends.

" Sure give me a minute to get someone to cover for me." Dee replied asking another Petty Officer to cover her station for a few minutes.

" So what can I do for you Lt?" Dee asked her as they left the CIC and found a quiet corner to talk.

" You know about the Colonial Day celebration in two days right?' Kara asked.

" Are you nuts…" Dee exclaimed " of course I know or have you forgotten where I work? Why what's this about?"

" I need a dress, but not just any dress, I need a dress that will make Lee get of his has and make the next move. I'm tired of being in limbo. So do you have any ideas?" Kara pleaded.

" Of course I do. Actually do you remember my maid of honor dress I wore to Shelby's wedding last summer."

" I sure do."

" Well its sitting in my locker. So once I get off shift why don't you come by to try it on."

" Thanks Dee. I'll owe you big time." Kara replied before giving her a big hug and running off down the corridor, leaving Dee behind shaking her head as she walked back into CIC to finish off her shift.

Kara had run back to the officers quarters to take a quick shower, set her alarm clock and then laid down to sleep. When her shift was over Dee went to the enlisted quarters opened her locker and pulled out the garment bag holding the dress. Kara showed up an hour later with Sharon in tow. As soon as they'd walked in Dee had given Kara the dress and told her to change.

" Ok, guys be completely honest. How do I look?" Kara asked nervously when she stepped out of the head.

" You look great" both of them exclaimed. Also at that moment Cally walked into the quarters.

" Wow Starbuck that dress looks really good on you. I'm sure Capt. Adama won't b able to keep his hands off of you." she said blushing slightly at the last part of her comment.


	11. The Calm and Then Comes The Storm Pt 3

Disclaimer: Don't own them, but maybe Santa will give them to me for Christmas. Hope You enjoy. Please review that way I'll know if anyone actually like it. Also I want to thank my good friend Ano1971 because without her, this chap wouldnt exist.

So with the perfect dress now hanging in her locker, Kara was hoping that things between her and Lee would go from frostbite back to warm and comfortable. Then the big night finally came, Kara put on her dress and then Sharon did her hair before going on her patrol whilst Dee did her make-up. Kara decided that she would be fashionably late, and showed up at the celebration half an hour after it had begun. When she arrived she made a straight bee line for the bar. Once there she ordered herself a glass of ambrosia, after the bartender gave it to her she turned around on her barstool and started watching the crowd. This to her was interesting because she could watch everyone interact with each other . After she'd sat there for five minutes a man who looked quite handsome in his dress uniform came up to her and asked her if she would like to dance.

" Lt. Thrace, would you like to dance?" he asked her nervously.

" Sure, Lt. Gaeta, I didn't dress up tonight to sit on a bar stool." So together they made their way out onto the dance floor.

Roughly forty-five minutes later Kara finally managed to make her way back to the bar. After she'd finished her dance with Gaeta she'd ended up dancing with half of the male pilots. She quickly took her seat at the bar, and signaled for the bartender to bring her another glass of ambrosia. " Here you go ma'am " he said when he brought her the drink. "Thanks" she replied picking up her glass and sipping it as she turned in her seat to once again survey the crowd.

Earlier that evening Lee stood in the pilots briefing room telling those under his command what they would be doing that night. After he finished that he quickly made his way to the pilots quarters where he grabbed his towel and toiletries and made his way to the head to grab a quick shower. After finishing his shower he changed into his dress uniform and made his way to where the Colonial Day celebrations were being held. Even with all of his rushing around he ended up being an hour and a half late. Once he arrived he made his way over to his father to check in with him.

" Good evening sir." Lee said when he reached his father.

" Captain, I was beginning wonder if you would be making an appearance." his father replied amusement evident in his voice.

" After the the things I threatened to do to my pilots if they didn't show, their was no doubt of my not being here." he replied, shuddering slightly when he remembered some the of things he'd threatened his pilots with.

They continued to chat like this for several minutes, however Lee's attention soon started to waver when he spotted Kara at the bar, of course his father noticed this immediately.

" It would seem that I no longer have your undivided attention son."

" ... What... Oh sorry did you say something?" Lee asked him slightly confused.

" Why don't you just ask her to dance." his father said before turning around and walking off.

Slightly shocked Lee stood there for a moment trying to figure out how his father could read him so well when they hadn't really been around each other since he was a little boy. But he decide that he'd dwell on those thoughts another night. Instead he turned his attention back to the bar where he saw a beautiful sight. He stood there watching as Kara took sip from her drink, but what shocked him most was that she was actually wearing a dress. She looked amazing, the blue dress seemed to accentuate her curves and the color of the dress made it look as if her skin was glowing. Finally Lee took a deep breathe and walked over to where she was sitting.

" Hi Kara." Lee said when he reached her.

" Hi." she said back, looking at him and thinking to herself that he looked great in his dress uniform.

" Would you like to dance?" Lee asked Kara hoping he didn't sound to eager.

" Sure, I mean me in a dress is a once in a lifetime opportunity." Kara replied with something half way between a smile and a grin on her face.

Lee chuckled as he took her hand in his and together they walked out onto the dance floor. When they reached the dance floor a slow song started to play, so Lee pulled Kara close as they danced. They were both quiet for a few minutes as they savored being held by the other. Finally Lee whispered in her ear " You look stunning tonight" and then placed a chaste kiss onto her lips.

" You don't look to bad yourself" she replied kissing him back.

Across the room stood a man in the shadows, watching as the couple danced. He was watching their every move, he was especially interested in the fact that Kara would let Lee touch her intimately. She hadn't let any other man get this close to her all night long yet, for some reason that he couldn't fathom she let that poor spoiled little rich brat Adama touch her. This frustrated him to no end, however he had every intention of changing that in the near future. So whilst standing there he started fingering the vile he was carrying in the breast pocket of his suit. Inside of this vile was a clear, odorless and tasteless liquid, that when ingested clouded ones judgment, and made them susceptible to others desires.

Twenty minutes after Lee and Kara had started dancing, someone actually dared to interrupt them.

" May I cut in Capt.?" asked Baltar, as he stood next to them.

Reluctantly Lee let go of Kara, and placed a quick kiss onto her forehead before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

" Shal we" suggested Baltar holding out his right hand to her so they could start dancing.

Kara put on a fake smile and replied, " Sure Doctor " she then put her and in his and cringed inside as they made contact.

After fifteen minutes Kara was praying that someone would come and rescue her from this nightmare. She had searched the crowd for Lee several times but he wasn't anywhere in sight. She tried searching for other people who might be able to help her make a polite exit, but she was having no luck.

" Lt. Thrace may I get you something to drink?" Baltar asked her, interrupting her thought process.

" That would be nice, I'll have a glass of ambrosia." Kara replied.

Baltar walked over to the bar and got two glasses of ambrosia, however on the way back he stopped at one of the tables that had been set up for people to sit at and pulled out the vile that he had stored in the breast pocket of his suit. He then poured half of the contents of the vile into Kara's glass of ambrosia. He then continued on to where Kara was sitting " here you go Kara, it is ok that I address by your first name isn't it."

" That's fine and thank you for the drink doctor" Kara replied before downing her drink in one straight shot.

" Please call me Gaius" he asked her in return.

" Um sure I'll try to remember that."

So in the end Kara spent the rest of the night in the company of Dr. Gaius Baltar. Several bottles of ambrosia later the illustrious doctor led Kara from the celebrations back to his quarters. Once inside he pinned her up against the bulk head and started to kiss her. At first she tried to resist him, however, the drug that he had poured into her drink was making it difficult, the longer he kissed her the more her body responded. Slowly Baltar's hands made the their way to the back of her dress, he then lazily pulled down the zipper slowly exposing creamy white skin. His lips soon left her mouth, they ventured along her jaw and down her neck to where her pulse point is. Once he reached it he started to suckle on her neck. At the same time his hands were moving from her back up onto her shoulders, he then pulled the shoulder straps which in return made her dress slide down along her body and pool at her feet. His hands then caressed her abdomen, they didn't stay their long and troubled upward to cup her breasts. When he did this Kara let out a deep throaty moan of pleasure. Hearing her moan excited him and made him rock hard. It also made him massage her breast more, whilst doing this he also tweaked her nipples making them hard and stand on their own. He then lowered his head and started to suckle first her left breast and then her right making her moan even louder as she arched into the sensations that he was causing. When he stopped those ministrations she sagged against him and had he not been holding onto her she would have slid to the floor. So he then picked her up and carried her to his bed, after laying her down he quickly stripped off her panties and through them onto the floor. His hands started at her ankles where he then let them slide up her legs and in-between her thighs which he spread in an attempt to reach his goal. Baltar spent the next few hours exploring Kara's body with both his mouth and hands, bringing her close to the brink of an orgasm on regular intervals but never letting her cross that edge. At dawn he had enough of exploring her body and he was finally ready to take her, he quickly removed the remainder of his clothing before spreading her legs again, dipping one finger inside of her to insure she was wet and then without any preamble he surged inside of her taking her in one swift moved. He started out slow but then he gradually sped up until he couldn't hold off any longer and he came deep inside of her filling her with his seed. When he came it triggered Kara's orgasm and when it hit her she screamed Lee's name.

After a few minutes Kara's breathing had returned to normal, and that is when she realized where she was and who she was with and this scared her. The night before was running through her mind like a bad tech-no color movie, She also didn't feel right, she remembered drinking quite a bit, but new from past experiences that she could normally drink much more. But before further contemplating what had happened Kara quickly grabbed one of the sheets off of the bed and wrapped it around her self, before finding her clothes and making a quick exit from his room into the corridor. Once there Kara found a secluded spot and slid on the dress before heading to the Life Station.

Meanwhile inside the room Gaius had gotten up from bed as well, he was now standing in the center of his room taking a swig from a bottle of ambrosia.

" Gaius, did you really think that by drugging her, she would fall in love with you?" Six chided him as she appeared.

" What does she see in that drone?" Gaius asked not understanding why his plan had failed.

" He has a nice body, beautiful eyes, he is an authority figure. That is something that many human females seem to be drawn to." Six answered.

So together they continued this conversation for a little while longer.

Life Station

Kara walked into the life station in a trance. " Lt. Thrace to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this morning." Doc Cottle asked her.

" Well... um... could we talk somewhere private please." Kara mumbled biting her lip slightly as she talked.

" Follow me Lt." Cottle replied before turning and heading towards his office. Once inside he took a seat at his desk and lit a cigarette, he then motioned for her to take a seat. She then walked into his office and closed the door behind her before taking a seat, however after she sat down she just started fidgeting with her hands. " So how can I help you."

" Is there a way to determine if someone was drugged?" she asks him.

" That depends on wether or not the drug was ingested or injected and on what was used. Why do you ask?"

" So what would you do to find out?" she asked again.

" Well I would take a blood and urine sample from you to be tested..."

Before he could finish his sentence " would you be able to do the lab work on the tests yourself?"

" Yes. Now Lt. may I ask were all of this is leading?" he asks her curiously.

" Before I answer that question would you be able to run those tests on me?"

" I can do that, but afterwards I want some answers." he replies as he gets up from his chair to grab some supplies. Once he had what he needed he drew some blood from her arm and then gave her a small plastic cup with a lid to pee into. Kara quickly excused her self from his office and went to the head to take care of business. She returned within five minutes handing the specimen cup to the doc before taking a seat at his desk again. The doc on the other hand took both samples and headed to the lab to test the samples he had.

Half an hour later Doc Cottle returned to his office to find Kara sitting in the exact same position that she'd been in when he'd left. " Alright Lt. I have your test results and I'd like to know how you knew that you'd been drugged."

" It was a gut feeling. I woke up somewhere, where I never would have been under normal circumstances." she answered him honestly.

" Do you know who drugged you?"

" My guess is its the man whose bed I woke up in this morning."

" Lt. I need to know who that was, other female crew members may be in danger."

" I believe Dr. Baltar drugged me."

" I also have to ask, did you engage in any sexual activities?"

At that question Kara lowered her head as a few tears escaped, " yes" she stuttered quietly.

" I know this is difficult but i need this information for my report, also I need to notify Commander Adama of this."

" Fine"

Cottle picked up the phone and dialed the CIC, Commander Adama please. Yes, commander, however that isn't why I was calling, their has been an incident with a member of this crew and I need to see you in my office immediately. Not long after they finished the conversation Adama showed up, he noticed Kara almost immediately and in an instant fear gripped his stomach. For the next hour Kara told them what she could remember of the previous night. When they had finished she had been excused and headed towards the pilots quarters. She quickly opened her locker grabbed a pair of tanks and her overalls, she then went into the showers and turned the water up to the highest temperature possible. She stood under the water scrubbing herself until the water ran cold and her skin was raw. When she was finished she put the dress in her locker yanked a comb through her hair, she then put on her boots and headed for the hanger deck. Once their she went over to her tool box and started working on her viper. Several hours later Lee shows up looking for her.

" So this is where you've been hiding." Lee states.

" Yeah, so what's it to you." she replied not looking up from what she's doing.

" So do you want to tell me why you did it?"

" Why I did what?" Kara asks stopping what she was doing and coming out from under her viper.

" Why did you sleep with that pompous bastard? What did you want to get back at me for being an ass recently? Just tell me." Lee shouted.

" Frak you Lee Adama, but contrary to what you believe the world doesn't revolve around you." Kara yelled right back at him.

" So tell me was the doctor a good frak for you..." but before he could finish his train of thought Kara swung as hard as she could delivering her deadly right hook with great accuracy. But that wasn't the end of it because Lee swung right back. She'd had enough though and left the hanger deck. No sooner had she left there was an announcement over the intercom.

Captain Adama please report to the CIC immediately. Captain Adama please report to the CIC immediately.

" You wanted to see me sir." Lee stated after he saluted hi father.

" Follow me Capt." Adama said to his son before walking to his office. When they'd entered Adama closed the door and told his son to take a seat. " one of your pilots was drugged and assaulted last night.

" which one?"

" I don't know how to tell you this... it was Kara." Bill said his voice strained.

" What!" Lee exclaimed shocked.


	12. The damage from the storm made clear

**Disclaimer:** Don't own them, but maybe Santa will give them to me for Christmas. Hope You enjoy. Please review that way I'll know if anyone actually like it. Also I want to thank those that helped me brainstorm, you know who you are. And last of all if any of you have any suggestions, for what could happen next please let me know. For those of you who have reviewed "THANKS" , you make this all worthwhile.

A sickening feeling spread throughout Lee's body as the impact of his father's words sunk in. " Do you know what happened specifically?" Lee asked, his earlier conversation with Kara coming to mind.

" From what Kara could tell us, and Dr. Cottle's test we have a pretty good idea what happened..." Bill said as he walked over to his desk and opened the bottom drawer pulling out a bottle of aged ambrosia. He then poured two glasses one of which he handed to Lee " Kara remembers drinking several rounds of ambrosia with him, and then felt a little ill. He offered to walk her back to Pilots Quarters, however he instead took her to his quarters."

" And you're sure she didn't just leave with him and know regrets sleeping with him. Hell, it wouldn't be the first time that she frakked some guy and then regretted it the next morning." Lee said.

" If you need proof that she was drugged here," Bill said handing Lee a piece of paper " This is the report from Cottle. It contains the results of the blood test he ran on her. If you'll take a look at the last line you'll notice that her blood contains traces of a drug that is known to be used in assaults."

Then taking a swig from his glass of ambrosia Bill continued " Once they reached his quarters, her memory starts to degrade from there. She doesn't remember all of the specifics of what happened. Even with her spotty recollection there is enough other evidence."

" So what happens know?"

" Sergeant Hadrian, should be in the process of serving the arrest warrant on Dr. Baltar. But what I'd like to know right now is why you think Kara would make something like that up. You've known her most of your life, and aside from the fact she is the woman you love, why would you doubt her on an issue like this?" Bill asked confused.

" That would be because I've become the biggest jack ass known to man. I heard the rumors this morning about Kara and instead of talking to her I confronted her by accusing her of being a slut." Lee said before he downed the remainder of his glass of ambrosia.

" You did what? What were you thinking?"

" I wasn't dad, and that's the problem. I'm sure you've noticed that she and I haven't been on speaking terms recently, so when I heard the rumors I got jealous. Its not so much that I believed them, but the rational side of my brain decided to go AWOL and I managed to really frak things up."

" My advice to you son is give her some space, with time some of these wounds will heal." Bill told him.

Once he was done talking to the commander, Lee walked out into the corridor and started to wander aimlessly. His thoughts, couldn't get past the information that he'd gained from his father. But what bothered him the most is how he'd treated her a few hours ago. He'd let his blinding jealousy take over and he'd managed to cause her even more pain. When she'd needed him most he hadn't been there.

Baltar's Lab

Without knocking Sgt. Hadrian walked into Dr. Baltar's Lab flanked by two armed Marines.

" Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" he demanded in a superior tone. "This is my office and I am in the middle of some very important work."

" Dr. Giaus Baltar, you are under arrest, under Article 72-9 of the Colonial Military Justice Laws."

" I ... I ... beg your pardon, do you know who I am." Baltar asked trying to sound superior but instead his voice faltering and trembling.

" I couldn't care less if you're the President of the Thirteen frakking Colonies, I have a warrant issued for your immediate arrest and I have every intention of serving it." she replied as she advanced and put him in handcuffs.

" May I ask what, pray tell is Article 72-9?" Baltar asked.

" You are being arrested for the sexual assault of Lt. Thrace, so under the rights of the colonies you have the right to remain silent, which I really wish you'd take to heart at the moment, and the right to a lawyer, however I'm not sure if you'll be able to find one in the fleet that would be willing to represent you."

Once she'd informed him of his rights he was then taken to the brig.

After having sat in the brig for several hours he received his first visitor in the form of Lee Adama.

" So Doc how are the accommodations?" Lee asked in facetious tone, as he took off the jacket to his uniform leaving him in his pants and regulation tanks. He placed the jacket onto the guard's desk, took the keys to the cell out of his pants pocket and unlocked it. He than entered the cell and locked it behind himself.

" What are you doing?" Baltar asked nervously.

" I'm wondering how you can call yourself a man. A true man would never drug a woman, to get her in bed."

" Jealous, Captain?" Baltar replied smugly, before he flew into the bulkhead opposite of where he'd been standing. When he stopped seeing stars he found himself on the floor, with a bloody lip and a badly bruised jaw.

" My relationship with her isn't the issue. What you did is. You're not a man you're a frakking coward. What made you think that you could possibly be good enough for her? You are nothing." Lee said as he picked Baltar up by the collar of his shirt and pinned him against the wall. He then drew back his right arm and punched him with a right hooked that rivaled Kara's. When Baltar slid to the floor Lee kicked him once hard in the ribs, resulting in a cracking sound coming from Baltar's body

" So do you have anything to say?" Lee asked him.

" Only that you won anyway." Baltar replied in a raspy uneven breath.

" What the hell does that mean?"

" It means that even though she was with me in person, she wasn't in spirit."

" Can you speak in coherent sentences, or are riddles the only thing you know how to say?" Lee asked grinding his teeth and wishing he could put the man lying at his feet out of the nearest air lock.

Instead of answering him Baltar just dragged himself over to the cot that was provided and collapsed on it.

Gym

After her fight with Lee, Kara had gone to gym and beat the hell out of the punching bag that was there. She just let her emotions go, all the hurt, anger, frustration, and even shame. With every punch she inflicted on the bag another emotion would surface. She did this for a good two hours, and only stopped because of the pain that was now coming from her hands.

Kara sat down on a bench on the far side of the gym and took off her boxing gloves very tentatively. She then picked up her water bottle and took a few sips from it, before grabbing her towel and wiping the sweat from her face. Afterwards she got up and headed to the Life Station for the second time that day.

" Hey Doc, do have a minute for your favorite patient?" Kara asked with a smirk on her face.

" Sure Lt. what can I do for you this time."

" I need an anti-inflammatory for my hands and some pain killers wouldn't hurt" Kara replied truthfully.

" May I ask who, I'll be treating next?" Cottle asked her as he inspected the damage she'd done to her hands.

" The only thing I hit was the punching bag sir" Kara replied, wincing as he touched a sore spot.

" Well, I'm gonna need to x-ray both of your hands before I decide what course of treatment is best for you." He said as left the examination area, where Kara was sitting on one of the beds " are you coming Lt. or do think these x-rays are going to be done by magic?"

" Coming sir." She replied as she jumped off of the bed and followed the doctor.

After he took the x-rays Cottle told Kara to take a seat in the examination room area again. He also gave her two ice packs with strict instructions to but them on her hands while he developed the x-rays.

" Well Lt. you've managed to re-fracture the phalanges in your left hand."

" Frak it all to hell, this is the last thing I needed" Kara replied distraught over the fact that she'd end up grounded. " So for how long am I gonna be out of the cockpit?"

" I'd say anywhere from two weeks up, it depends on how well you heal. I'll have you put on light duty for the time being and in two weeks we'll reevaluate the situation. If the bones have knitted together well, you're not in extensive pain and you some range of motion I may clear you for duty then." Cottle told her " In the mean time I'm going to place a cast on your hand."

" Thanks doc" Kara told Cottle when he had finished casting her hand.

" You're welcome, but please try not to punch or kick anyone or thing." He replied.

She actually smiled when he said that, as she walked out of the Life Station back to quarters. Once in side Kara walked to her locker and pulled out her poetry journal. Her father had given her this book when she was four years old, however, she had only started writing in it after Zak had died. Carefully she opened the journal to the first page and read the poem she had written there.

_The clouds are dark outside and the rain won't stop_

_There is a whole in my heart where you used to be._

_I wish I could see your eyes and smile just one more time_

_To have you hold me and hear you tell me that you love me._

_I am incomplete without you at my side_

_I love you and will always miss you._

A tear spilled from Kara's eyes as she read the entry that she'd written a couple of weeks after Zak's death. In retrospect even though her mother had tried to beat it out of her some of her father's creative side had managed to surface. When she had shore leave she would stay at her apartment in Delphi and there on occasion she would paint and write.

Kara then grabbed a pen from the shelf above her bunk and she then opened it to the next blank page in the book. But before she started writing she closed the curtains to her bunk. Once they were closed she made herself comfortable and started to write.

_I feel the dirt seeping into my skin_

_I wash I scrub_

_But the grime still remains._

_The bruises are fading_

_But I still feel the pain_

_There are no more tears to shed_

_But still I cry._

_I am cold, slowly becoming numb._

_I wish I could see the end _

_Will oblivion ever come?_

Before she continued to write Kara grabbed her bottle of painkillers and took a few, to ease the sharp pain that was shooting through her left hand. All in all she was just glad that she hadn't frakked up her right hand because then she really would have been screwed. Once she'd taken the pills she started to write another poem in her journal.

_Tears fall and the pain stays_

_I am drowning in this sea of despair._

_I seek warmth and comfort_

_But all I find is the numbing cold._

_The distance between those I love and myself keeps growing_

_How do I bridge the gap?_

_Will I ever get these broken pieces to fit together again?_

_I dream to be whole. _


	13. Rebuilding After the Storm

Disclaimer: Don't own them, but maybe Santa will give them to me for Christmas. Hope You enjoy. Please review that way I'll know if anyone actually like it. Also I want to thank those that helped me brainstorm, you know who you are. And last of all if any of you have any suggestions, for what could happen next please let me know. For those of you who have reviewed "THANKS" , you make this all worth while.

Capt. Adama please call the CIC immediately. Capt. Adama please call the CIC immediately

What could they possibly want from me now? Lee wondered as he made his way to the nearest telephone set.

" CIC" Dee said as she answered the line that was ringing.

" Specialist Dualla, this is Capt. Adama, I was just paged over the intercom. "

" Sir, the XO would like to see you here in CIC immediately, it seems there will be some problems with your flight schedule." Dee told him, her voiced filled with worry and dread.

" Tell the XO I'll be on my way momentarily." Lee replied before hanging up, just incase Dee had more to say.

Lee then walked up to the CIC curious as to what could be the problem with his flight roster since he'd just finished. None of his pilots were in hack, in the life station or injured. Once he got there he headed straight for Col. Tigh " Sir, Capt. Adama reporting as ordered sir" he said whilst executing a crisp hand salute.

" At ease Capt. I need you to fill all of Lt. Thrace's spots on the flight roster for the next month." Tigh said getting straight to the point.

" Understood sir. May I ask why Lt. Thrace will be off the roster?"

" Dr. Cottle has grounded the Lt. due to the fractures she has in her hand. From what I understand she aggravated a previous condition when she was working out in the gym."

" Sir, you'll have the revised schedule on your desk first thing in the morning."

" Very well Capt. You're dismissed." Tigh said. Lee then did a quick hand salute and turned around leaving the CIC for his office.

Once he reached his office he reworked his duty roster, trying to juggle his small number of pilots, into the open slots. After two hours of plugging names he finally had a working roster, he then got up and went to the pilot's briefing room where he posted the new schedule. Just as he'd finished posting the schedule Kat and Hot Dog walked into the room. " Good afternoon sir" They said as they saluted him.

" Kat, Hot Dog" he replied, " Could one of you please let the rest of the squadron know that I've made some changes to the duty roster."

" Sir" Hot Dog replied before turning around and heading out towards the hanger deck.

" and Kat would you be able to deliver the revised schedule to Col. Tigh in CIC for me."

" Not a problem sir" Kat replied smiling at him before turning around and leaving.

Once he was alone again Lee thought back to everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours and he still couldn't believe it. He decided that he couldn't wait any longer and walked at a brisk pace to the pilots' quarters. Upon entering the room he noticed that the curtains on Kara's bunk were drawn and that the rest of the room was empty. He walked over to her bunk at gently tapped on the frame.

A slightly muffled voice came from the inside " What?"

" Kara its me can we talk?" Lee asked her.

The curtains were pulled open with such force that they were almost ripped from the frame of the bunk. " What the frak do you want? Want to accuse me being a whore again?" Kara asked, without raising her voice, instead she said it with a low deathly voice. Hurt, anger and pain showing in her eyes, which were no longer a vibrant green that shone when the light hit but rather a dull almost cold color now.

" I wanted to apologize I was out of line."

" Why? Because the Old Man told you that son of a bitch raped me! Sorry Lee too little too late." She said as she got up from her bunk, grabbing her journal. She then put that in her locker and closed it. After that she walked up to Lee who was blocking her path " Excuse me sir" she said sarcastically as she shouldered him out of her way, " I have some things I need to take care of." She then opened the hatch to the corridor and stepped out slamming the door behind her. Lee knew as soon as Kara had left just how badly he'd frakked everything up between them.

Over the next week and a half things grew proportionally worse between the two of them. Kara refused to be in the same room as him whenever possible.

Commander's Quarters

" Good Morning Commander." President Roslin said as she took a seat in the seating area.

" Morning" Bill replied.

" First off how is Lt. Thrace doing?"

" It's hard to tell. She has always had a high wall built around her, there are very few people that she will let in to see her true feelings on a subject. Especially the ones that are close to her heart or those considered deep wounds."

" Well isn't Capt. Apollo close to Lt. Thrace? I was led to believe that they were best friends or possibly even more than that."

" I can't comment on their relationship other than that at the moment the two aren't on speaking terms."

" So what are you going to about it Bill?" Laura asked him.

" What do you mean ' what are you going to do about it'? This is between them." He replied.

" Yes but you could get them to talk again." She relied with earnest

" How for fraks sake am I supposed to do that, without them finding out it was me?"

" Does it really matter if they know?"

" Yes, it matters. Lee will have an issue with it because I'll be interfering in his life.

And Kara is just not a woman I want to cross, I may be her commanding officer and I may have played a part in raising her but that doesn't make me immune from the wrath of Starbuck." He told her with a small smirk on his face. "Also what would you suggest I do?"

" Couldn't you lock them into a room and not let them out until they've made up. I mean they'll either talk or kill each other, but either way the problem will be solved."

" Your words the gods ears." Bill replied smiling. He then turned serious again " Ok, now that we've established what to do about my CAG and Lead Pilot, why don't we focus on the rest of the fleet? So together they discussed what was happening in the fleet and what else had happened on the Galactica.

Lt. Valerii, Chief Petty Officer Tyrol, Specialist Dualla and Specialist Cally, please report to the CIC briefing room immediately. Lt. Valerii, Chief Petty Officer Tyrol, Specialist Dualla and Specialist Cally, please report to the CIC briefing room immediately.

When the four of them arrived there the room was still empty. " Dee do you now why we've been paged here?" Sharon asked the communications tech.

" I have no idea sir, I was in the middle of eating what passes for lunch these days in the chow hall." Dee replied.

No sooner had those words left her mouth, the hatch to the room opened and in walked the commander. " At ease and take a seat please" he said as the others were snapping to attention.

Once everyone was seated Adama started the little speech he'd only come up with a few minutes ago. " First off what I am about to discuss with you will not leave this room. Is that understood?"

" Sir, yes, sir." Replied the four, wondering what in the world they were about to get themselves into.

" I'm sure you already know what happened to Lt. Thrace" Adama paused and the four at the table nodded their heads " I'm also sure that you've noticed the rift that has recently grown between Apollo and Starbuck" again they nodded their heads when Adama paused. " I asked you here today because I need your help in getting those two stubborn people back on track."

When he said this four jaws dropped simultaneously. " Excuse me sir, did I just hear you say you want us to help you get them back together?" Cally asked nervously.

" Are you sure this is a good idea?" Dee asked for the first time in her short career questioning her commander's wisdom.

" Yes, on both counts. Now I can't order you to help me but I would be grateful for your help." He told them with complete honesty. " So will you help me?" he asked them and again all for heads bobbed up and down in agreement to help.

Pilot's Quarters

Lee waited until everyone had left the bunkroom; he then walked over to the hatch and locked it from the inside. He then went over to Kara's locker and opened it. Once it was open he surveyed the contents until he found what he'd been looking for, he pulled out Kara's journal. When he'd seen it the week before he'd automatically recognized it as the one her father had given her. But what surprised him the most was that she'd been writing in it, since it was one of her most prized possessions and she had once sworn to never write in it.

Lee then closed the locker door and sat down on the bench in the middle of the room. Once seated he opened the book up and started to read the entries inside, hoping to gleam some inside into what he could do to win Kara back. The poems he read affected him deeply because they'd all been written from the heart, but the one that affected him the most was the most recent and last entry.

_He claims to love me,_

_But he doesn't trust me. _

_He claims he'll never leave me,_

_But closes his heart and emotions from me._

_There is a whole in my soul,_

_The part that he used to fill._

_I have become invisible, _

_I have faded into darkness,_

_Will I ever see the light again?_

_Will my soul ever heal? _

_Will I ever be whole again?_

_Lords of Kobol hear my prayer,_

_Please help your daughter find peace again._

When he finished reading the poem a solitary tear slid down his face. But with that tear also came a greater determination to fix all the wrongs he'd done in the last few weeks. Lee then got up and replaced the journal in Kara's locker, before walking back to the hatch and unlocking it.


	14. Mission Cupid

Disclaimer: Don't own them, but maybe Santa will give them to me for Christmas. Hope You enjoy. Please review that way I'll know if anyone actually like it. Also I want to thank those that helped me brainstorm, you know who you are. And last of all if any of you have any suggestions, for what could happen next please let me know. For those of you who have reviewed "THANKS" , you make this all worth while.

CIC Communications Station

" Dee, what does this frakking thing I'm hiding in the remote storage locker look like?" Sharon asked completely exasperated after having spent the last hour searching for it in the storage room Dee had told her it would be in. "Cause I sure as hell can't find it. And hasn't anyone ever heard of labeling all of the frakking shit that's in there?"

" Sorry sir, but considering what's been going on here, labeling things hasn't been a top priority, plus most of us know what a transmitting relay looks like, sir" Dee replied harshly.

Taking a deep breath " Alright, we're both a little on edge do to the Commander's little pet project. So how about we start this conversation again?" Sharon suggested.

Smiling Dee replied, " Sure, the part you're looking for is about this big" as she moved her hands apart. " There are three green processor chips on the mother board and a small orange bulb. Also I grabbed the last one from the third shelf on the right side, and the red spool of fiber optic cable should be next to it."

" Alright I'll look again, thanks." Sharon replied.

"You're welcome sir." Dee said in return.

Hanger Deck

" Hey chief you got a minute?" Cally asked the man who was currently elbow deep in a Raptor.

" Sure, what can I do for you?" he asked in reply.

" I was wondering if you had, had the chance to repair the door to the remote storage locker, cause if you haven't I could take care of it for you. I just finished my work on the Viper you assigned."

" I've already taken care of it. Why don't you show Sanchez how to repair that gimble she's working on. I've shown her twice and she still keeps frakking it up."

" Sure Chief" she replied smirking, before turning around to find Sanchez.

" One more thing Cally." Tyrol said

" What is it chief?" she asked as she returned to his side.

" Did you put all the fuel seals back in their place?"

"No sir, Lt. Valerii did."

" Alright thank you."

" No problem chief" she said whilst turning and going to find Sanchez.

Commanders Quarters 2000 hours

Knock, Knock

" Enter", said the voice from within.

Sharon quickly opened the door and stepped inside of the office and stood at attention in front of the commander's desk.

"At-ease Lieutenant, is everything in order?"

"Yes sir, we are ready to commence with Mission Cupid" Sharon replied having trouble keeping a straight face.

Chuckling the Commander replied, " Very well, lets put this plan into action tomorrow. But I do have one question, who came up with Mission Cupid?" after which he started laughing fool out.

"Well sir, Specialist Cally did."

"Thank you. You're dismissed."

"Sir" Sharon replied as she saluted the commander before doing an about face and leaving his office. She then went in search of her fellow conspirators to inform them that their mission would be a go first thing the next morning.

Chow Hall 0530 hours

"Ok, everyone ready to get this show on the road?" Dee asked as she took a seat with her three co-conspirators the next morning during breakfast.

"Well, the fuel seals and the transmitting relays are now in the storage locker. So that takes care of my half of this crazy mission." Sharon sighed praying Starbuck would never find out about what they were about to do.

"The door to the storage closet is rigged so that it can only be opened from the outside." Tyrol added, " So are you to ready for your acting gig?" he then asked Dee and Cally.

"Honestly no. I'm scared of what will happen to me if Starbuck finds out I tricked her. However, will I do it? Yes, cause those two need to start talking. I'm tired of suffering from frostbite when they're around." Cally told the group truthfully.

" I'm not thrilled of lying…tricking the Capt. but Starbuck and Apollo need to clear the air if nothing else." Dee then added.

" Alright everyone lets get this show on the road and finish our mission. " Sharon said as she got up from the table.

Hanger Deck 0800 hours

They had been working together for almost two hours, when they came out from underneath the viper they had been working on.

"Sir, would you be able to get a part for me?" Cally asked hoping that her nervousness wasn't showing.

"Why not? It's not like I'm being all that helpful to you with this thing on." Kara replied holding up her broken hand. " So what do you need?"

"I need a couple of fuel seals sir."

"Where do I find them?"

"They're located somewhere in the remote storage locker."

"Take ten and I'll be back," Kara told her as she headed off towards the locker.

Once their Kara opened the hatch and stepped through it. She let it close behind her as she walked through the isles of shelves looking for the fuel seals. After fifteen minutes of searching she found them behind a box of various size copper coils. She quickly grabbed what she needed and headed back to the hatch, however when she tried to open it, it wouldn't budge.

Kara tried banging on the hatch for several minutes, however no one came to her aide. So filled with frustration, she through the seals into the corner of the room and then sat down on the floor her back leaning against one of the bulkheads.

CIC 0900 hours

"Gods damn it" Dee muttered as the transmitting relay shorted and shocked her.

"Everything ok down their Petty Officer?"

"No sir." Dee replied.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, I've been running a diagnostic on the communications console and the transmitting relay just blew a circuit sir."

"And shocked you in the process" Lee said pointing to her palm.

When Dee looked at her hand she noticed burn marks on her hand, "Damn I didn't even feel this."

"Go to the Life Station and have one of the medics look at that."

"Sir I need to finish this first." She told him adamantly.

"Fine" Lee said chuckling " what do you need to finish this?"

"A new transmitting relay."

"Ok, I'll get it for you, and in return you can go to the Life Station, by the time they're done with you, it will be here waiting for you."

"Is that an order sir?"

"I'll make it one if I have to."

"Yes sir" Dee answered, " Also sir, do you know where to locate the new relay?"

"No Petty Officer I don't, but I'm sure you'll tell me." Lee said smirking in true Starbuck fashion.

"They are located in the remote storage locker."

"Very well now will you go? Or do I have to escort you?"

"No sir" Dee replied snapping a quick salute before leaving her station and heading out of the CIC towards the Life Station.

Lee followed her part of the way before turning to head down to the hanger deck. From there he walked over to the locker, opened the hatch and stepped inside. Then just as the hatch was closing he heard a voice "Don't let that hatch close!" however that voice came too late.

"Great! Just frakking great!" Kara exclaimed with a raised voice.

"What's your problem Kara?" Lee asked confused.

"The lock on the hatch is broken, I've been sitting here for the last frakking hour waiting for someone to open that damn door. And what do you do? You let the damn thing close behind you."

"How in the in the hell was I supposed to know. Do I look like a mind reader?" Lee snapped back, exhausted due to tossing and turning in his bunk the previous night.

"What so there is actually something the great Lee Adama doesn't know? I guess there is a first time for everything, even though you do seem to know everything about me like who I'm frakking." She bit out the last words.

"Can't we just talk? Us fighting with each other is getting frakking old." Lee replied frustrated.

"Now you want to talk? When I did all you could do was yell at me, you wouldn't even let me explain. You actually thought I'd screw around on you with that pompous jackass." Kara took a couple of shuddering breaths as she willed the tears in her eyes not to fall. "I may be a screw up Lee but I never would have intentionally hurt you like that. And do you know why?"

"It's because I love you, or at least I thought I did." She mumbled that last part as the tears started to slide down her face.

Lee walked over to where she was sitting "You love me?" Lee asked looking down at her "you sure have a funny way of showing it, hell you've been ignoring me for weeks, refusing to talk to me. So yeah I thought you were frakking him behind my back, shit Kara what did you expect me to think."

"I expected you to just trust me," she sniffled. "You say you love me, but you won't trust me? You can't have one without the other."

"I do love you. I just got jealous, considering you've been talking to every other male on this frakking battlestar." Lee replied.

"Yeah you trust me with your life, you trust me in the air but you don't trust me with your heart." Kara told him.

"But…"

Before he could finish his sentence Kara continued, "I don't think we should see each other for a while or at least until Doc Cottle puts me back on the flight roster."

"Why?" Lee asked confused, he figured since they were getting their feelings out things would be ok.

"Lee who are we trying to kid, this" she said waving her hands between the two of them is never going to work, we're both to set in our ways." Kara told him honestly now that the tears had stopped.

"That's Bullshit Kara! You're not just the woman I love, but you're also my best friend. I don't want to loose you."

"Well, maybe it's too late, maybe you've already lost me."

"I don't believe that for one minute Kara, and I don't think you do either." Lee told hoping that they could get past this. He then knelt down in front of her and placed a searing kiss on her lips.

At first Kara was too shocked to do anything but after several moments she pushed him away, because as soon as he touched her fleeting images from her night with Baltar started flowing through her mind. "I can't do this Lee, it's too much too soon," she said stuttering and implying everything that was going on between them.

When she pushed him away Lee couldn't look at her, he felt his heart rip in two again. So instead of sitting with her like he had planned he instead stalked behind some of the shelving units and found a secluded spot where he didn't have to look at her.

Kara then sat quietly for some time so thinking about everything, before her emotions flared up again. This time she got up and went to where he was sitting "Lee please just talk to me." Kara asked him.

CIC

"Commander we have dradis contact" Lt. Gaeta yelled across CIC to Commander Adama

"Set condition one throughout the fleet, and confirm new jump coordinates." Adama ordered Gatea, and then the announcement was made over the ships intercom system.


	15. Hidden Truths Revealed

Disclaimer: Don't own them, but maybe Santa will give them to me for Christmas. Hope You enjoy. Please review that way I'll know if anyone actually like it. Also I want to thank those that helped me brainstorm, you know who you are. And last of all if any of you have any suggestions, for what could happen next please let me know. For those of you who have reviewed "THANKS" , you make this all worth while.

CIC

"Commander we have dradis contact" Lt. Gaeta yelled across CIC to Commander Adama

"Set condition one throughout the fleet," Adama ordered to Gaeta. "and confirm new jump coordinates," the announcement to jump was made over the ships intercom system.

He then turned to Tigh, "have the alert vipers launch immediately."

"Yes sir" Tigh replied whilst picking up a handset.

"Mr. Gaeta what can you tell me?" Adama asked him several minutes later.

"There appears to be only one ship approaching." Gaeta replied instantly.

" Commander, I'm receiving a Colonial Transponder signal from the ship," Dee told him.

"Can you identify the signal Dee?"

"Yes sir the signal belongs to Lt. Karl Agathon."

"Can you patch me through to the ship?" he then asked her.

"Sir the patch is in place," Dee told Adama from her position at the communications station.

Upon being told, Adama began speaking to the pilot of the approaching ship. After several moments Hot Dog's voice came over the CIC's speakers, "Galactica this is Hot Dog requesting to speak with Galactica Actual, over."

" Roger that Hot Dog, I'll connect you momentarily, over" Dee replied.

A few moments later Adama switched handsets "Hot Dog this is Galactica Actual what's your status"

"Sir the vessel approaching the fleet appears to be alone. The craft seems to be of cylon origin but a lot larger than a raider, over." Hot Dog replied.

"Fly in a standard formation around it, if it does anything hostile blow it out of the sky, over."

" Received Galactica, Hot Dog out."

Adama then turned to Tigh again, "Have Capt. Kelly clear the flight deck and have the marines there, armed."

Flight Deck 20 min later

The raider was know sitting in the middle of the flight deck, and the only things surrounding it were the aircraft that the chief's deck crew had abandoned and 20 marines armed with machine guns and exploding rounds. Standing amongst those marines stood Commander Adama.

Slowly the rear hatch on the raider lowered itself down to the deck. After a few moments Helo slowly exited from the ship and turned to face the commander. He then stood at attention and saluted the old man " Lt. Agathon requesting permission to come on board sir."

Adama returned the salute and then replied, " Permission granted, welcome home son." He then turned towards the Sgt. in command of the marine unit and told them that they were dismissed.

" Thank you sir, its good to be back." He replied honestly. "However, I didn't come back alone sir. May I have a word with you sir be fore I have her step out." He then asked very nervously.

"What is it son?" Adama asked sensing Helo's unease.

"I ran into someone while on Caprica whilst I was trying to escape. I believed her to be one person and we grew closer " he said blushing profusely " however two weeks ago I found out she wasn't what she appeared to be."

"I take it you've figured out that this person is a cylon in human form..."

" Yes sir, however, what I found out will also effect the crew. The other thing is…" Helo swallowed hard before continuing, "she's pregnant with my child."

"So I'm to understand that not only have you figured out what another one of the cylon models looks, like but you've brought it here on my ship, because it claims it is pregnant? What I'd also like to know is why you think this may effect the crew?"

" Because the cylon model looks exactly like Lt. Valerii."

"What?" Adama asked with an incredulous expression on his face. Not wanting to believe that someone under his command could be a cylon.

Before doing anything else Adama walked over to the nearest com radio and picked up the handset " Specialist Dualla, discreetly have the commander of arms bring an armed unit back down to the flight deck, also have a secondary unit find Lt. Valerii and place her in the brig. Make sure no one else knows of this."

"Yes sir, I'll get on that immediately" Dee replied.

Adama then hung up the handset before turning back to Helo, "have the cylon come out of the raider slowly, and tell her if she is armed to leave her weapons behind."

Helo turned and walked up the ramp into the raider. Several moments later he came back out with the copy of Sharon following behind him. When they reached the commander Sharon cautiously stepped out from behind Helo. The commander then looked the cylon up and down noticing a rounded swell at her abdomen, confirming the Lieutenants earlier statement about her claiming to be pregnant.

Observation Lounge

Meanwhile on another part of the ship Sgt. Hadrian was leading a unit of marines to the observation lounge, after having asked several people on the location of Lt. Valerri.

"Lt. Valerri, you need to come with us immediately" Sgt. Hadrian told the young woman sitting in front of her, playing a card game with Boxey the young boy she had rescued from Caprica.

"Sure Sgt. but may I ask why? And what's with the armed escort?" Sharon asked since she felt somewhat confused.

"I am acting under direct orders of the commander, sir. I can't explain his reasoning. So with that being said would you please come along sir." The Sgt asked again.

"Very well could you give me a few minutes?" Sharon then asked.

"You have two minutes sir."

Sharon quickly turned back to Boxey "I guess we're gonna have to finish our game another time, when I'm off duty."

"Sure Sharon" Boxey replied with a smile on his face.

"But for now why don't you take the cards back to your quarters and finish your homework, before the chief has both our hides."

"You got it." Boxey replied grinning wildly as he put the cards in a backpack and headed for the hatch leading into the causeway.

A few minutes after Boxey had left Sharon walked with her escort through the causeways of the Galactica. "Sgt. where are we heading?"

"I'm under orders to take you directly to the brig, and before you ask no I don't know why."

"Thank you Sgt." Sharon replied.

Several minutes later they arrived at their destination, and Sharon was locked into a cell. Out of her escort two armed marines stayed behind on guard duty.

Hanger Deck

Meanwhile, the marines had arrived as they had been ordered. After cuffing the Sharon double, she, Commander Adama and Lt. Agathon then headed for the Life Station. Upon their arrival Commander Adama asked one of the medics to give the Lt. a complete once over. He then turned to Doc Cottle "Dr. I would like for you to examine her" he said pointing at the woman standing between them.

"May I ask what is going on?" Dr. Cottle asked, "because I saw Lt. Valerii a week ago for a complete flight physical and she sure as hell wasn't pregnant then… I'd bet my medical school diploma on it." He stated whilst lighting a cigarette and inhaling deeply.

"Lets take this to your office." Adama replied not leaving any room for argument. Once inside Cottle's office Adama began to explain, "as I'm sure you heard the alert that went off throughout the ship."

At Cottle's affirmative nod Adama continued "on board the ship that was spotted were Lt. Agathon, who is currently being checked by one of your medics and her."

"Holly Shit. Since I know Valerii doesn't have a twin, that would mean she's a cylon." The Dr replied sarcastically.

"Yes, that is exactly what it means. Now what I need you to do is run a pregnancy test on her."

"Since when can toasters get knocked up?"

"You tell me. I want a full report on my desk when you are finished. The marines will stay here and guard our prisoner until you are finished and they will then escort her to the brig." Adama said before turning and leaving to head back to the CIC.

Cottle then left his office to gather the equipment he would need for the examination. He then told on of the marines to secure her cuffs to the examination bed in his office. After he asked her some questions he rolled over an ultrasound machine. He lifted her shirt, and then squirted a jelly like substance onto her abdomen.

After several moments the small room was filled with a swooshing sound that represented the baby's heartbeat. "I would say from the look of things that you're about 14 weeks pregnant".

At those words Sharon just nodded, hoping that she would be able to remain where she was and that she would be able to see her child be born.

Remote Storage Locker

"Hello! How the hell do people not know pilots are missing for twelve HOURS?" Kara yelled as she started banging on the door again with her one good arm.

"Will you FRAKKING STOP THAT?" Lee yelled across the room as he started rubbing his temples in hopes that his headache would go away.

"Well if you'd get off your ass and do something to help get us out of here, maybe I wouldn't be yelling." Kara replied tersely. "I mean frak, the ship goes to action stations, and nobody notices we're gone?"

"They probably know we're gone, but are to busy dealing with whatever the current problem is." Lee replied tiredly. "So get comfortable, I for one am gonna try to sleep."


	16. Surprises

The Brig

"So Lt. Valerii why have you been placed in the brig" sneered Baltar from the neighboring cell.

"None of your frakking business you sick bastard" Sharon replied, wondering what she'd done to deserve this.

She didn't have long to contemplate this because, an hour later the door to the brig opened again. This time the marines brought in a woman wearing hospital scrubs, and she was placed in the empty cell adjacent to her own. After the marines had departed from the brig Sharon turned to the woman and received the biggest shock of her life.

It was even bigger than realizing that the cylons were back and that they had decimated the twelve colonies. That her friends and family were dead, never to be seen again, that her life would be changed forever.

When she turned around and looked into this woman's eyes, she was looking at her own, staring right back at her. Shocked Sharon stumbled backwards onto her cot. She couldn't believe her eyes, the woman standing in front of her looked exactly like her.

"Bu… but how can this be? I'm an only child." Sharon stuttered after she was seated on the cot.

"I think you already know the answer to that." Her double replied. "We are the same person Sharon."

"But how? Wait…. that would mean I'm a, uh… cylon." Sharon finished saying not wanting to believe it.

"Yeah, that's right we're cylons" her double replied waving her arms pointing at each of them when she said this.

"But how can that be I was tested and the results came back negative." Sharon didn't want to believe this was happening to her.

"Well my guess is the good ole doctor lied to you, cause as sure as I'm standing here we are both cylons."

When she heard those last words Sharon turned on her cot and faced Baltar, "TELL me she's lying! TELL me I'M NOT A FRAKKING CYLON!" Sharon yelled at Baltar loosing what little of the control she had left on her emotions.

Instead of answering her he turned around and faced the wall pulling his blanket over his face.

Meanwhile on another part of the ship, Lt Agathon debriefed Commander Adam before he was allowed to head to the senior pilots quarters.

Pilots Quarters

Helo took a deep breath before slowly opening the door to the pilots quarters. Once inside he walked over to what used to be his locker, on it he noticed a small sign in Starbuck's handwriting. "DO NOT TOUCH, DO AND DIE". Karl had to laugh when reading this, but that was before he noticed that she'd also added a combination lock onto it.

"Great," Karl grumbled under his breath, "What the hell would she pick as a combination?" he wondered as he sat down on his old bunk. After a few minutes he stood up and decided that there was only one combination that Kara would truly use. It was the date of the day they'd decided to play a prank on the XO that should have landed them in the brig for two weeks, and of course it also marked the day from which Tigh was out for their blood since he knew it was them, but couldn't prove it.

So after thinking things through he got up again and went over to his locker and tried the set of numbers floating through his head. There was a click and then the lock popped open. He quickly surveyed what was inside, grabbing things he would need for a shower as he went along.

Fifteen minutes later Karl walked back into the bunkroom deposited his stuff in his locker. When he turned around he came face to face with what he could only term as two kids.

"Who the frak are you? This is the pilots quarters, no access for civilians." Hotdog stated.

"Well it's a good thing I'm an ECO in this rag tag fleet we call home then." Karl replied before turning around to snatch a lollipop out of his stash.

"How did you get in there? Are you crazy Starbuck will have your ass!" Kat exclaimed, pointing at the open locker.

"Well considering this is MY LOCKER, I don't think Kara will kick my ass. Speaking of where is she?"

"Wait you're Helo?"

"Yeah that's me."

Adama's Office

Knock, knock

"Enter" Adama said dreading the conversation he was about to have.

"Chief Tyrol reporting as ordered sir" the man said whilst standing at attention and giving his commanding officer a crisp salute.

"At ease chief, and please have a seat" he said pointing to the chair on the opposite side of his desk next to where Galen was standing.

"Chief I have called you here this evening to discuss several things that have transpired today, that may well effect you and the young boy that is currently in your care."

"Does this have anything to do with why Lt. Valerii was escorted to the brig today?"

"Yes, I'm sure you're aware of the time we were on alert status today. I had the flight deck cleared so that a heavy raider could land" at those words the chiefs brown knit in confusion "onboard of this raider were Lt. Agathon and one other person."

"But how does this pertain to myself and Lt. Valerii?"

"The person Helo brought back was a person who he until a little while ago believed was Sharon Valerii."

"What? How can that be?" The chief exclaimed.

"After Dr. Cottle's examinations it would seem that Sharon Valerii is a cylon, and Lt. Agathon brought a copy of her with him back from Caprica."

The chief just sat there completely distraught, not sure what to make of this new information.

"Chief you also need to know that this other version of Sharon is pregnant."

"Sir, if that is all may I please be excused sir?" the chief asked barely being able to keep his emotions in check.

"Of course, if you need to, you are free to remove yourself from the duty roster. Also I believe you should be the one to tell Boxey what is going on."

"Very well, sir"

"Dismissed chief" Adama replied.

Tyrol gave another crisp salute before turning around and leaving the commanders office. He then turned down the causeway and headed towards his quarters. His pace was slow and his thoughts were all over the place, as he was trying to contemplate what he'd just been told and the ramifications of this news. When he reached his quarters he slowly opened the door only to be greeted by the sight of Boxey sitting on the floor in front of the table doing his homework. After entering his quarters he sat down and explained what he had just learn to the young boy.

Adama's Office

"So Valerii is a cylon. What the frak are we gonna do now? It seems the great," said sarcastically "Dr. Baltar's machine seems to be a frakking waste." Saul grumbled.

"I've had Cottle got over the other test results and so far everyone else seems to be checking out, but he still has a lot of our personnel to go through so we're not in the clear yet." Replied Adama taking a sip from his glass full of ambrosia.

"Well not to change the subject and all but where in the hell are Starbuck and Apollo? I've been getting reports over the last couple of hours that they seem to have vanished. Do I have to send out the marines to search the entire ship?"

Adama put down his glass at the same time as he exclaimed "FRAK ME! ... I'd completely forgotten that they're locked in that damn supply closet."

"Excuse me, supply closet?" Tigh asked completely confused.

"I'll explain it on the way down to the flight deck" and with that said both men got up from there respective chairs and left the office in deep conversation.

Remote Storage Locker

Several hours later after yet another stupid fight Kara woke up. The first thing that she noticed was that she was laying in Lee's arms. They were warm and strong and holding onto her tightly, so without even thinking about it she breathed in his scent. It lingered in her nose before it sent a warm rush throughout her entire body. With them around her she felt entirely safe for the first time since this entire fiasco had begun.

'This is the way things are meant to be', was the thought that kept running through her head. What she couldn't understand was why things between the two of them always got this frakked up. And while she was thinking she subconsciously snuggled even deeper into his warm embrace.

Lee woke feeling really relaxed, surprisingly considering the previous events between him and Kara. But before even he opened his eyes he could feel her warm body pressed to his; he could also tell that he was holding her within his arms. And at this particular moment he realized that this is how he wanted to wake every day for the rest of his life.

Lee then opened his eyes, and leaned forward placing a chaste kiss onto the back of her neck. When he did this he felt her stiffen for a split second before relaxing again. Then before he could register what was going on, Kara turned around to face him whilst making sure she stayed firmly put in his embrace.

"Hi" Kara said somewhat shyly as she looked up into his eyes.

"Hey" Lee replied not knowing what to say next, not wanting to start another argument.

"Look Lee, I've been laying here for a little while and I have something I want to say to you so please don't interrupt me." Kara said looking at him with a pleading look.

"Ok"

"Lee I love you. I have for some time now and I don't want to loose what we have. I'm sick of fighting and things getting completely frakked up between us." Kara said on a sigh.

"I want to be with you, but I need you to give me some time so that I can get back to something resembling normal. I don't want freak out when you touch me but I can't help it. I know you're not him and I know you would never do anything like that to me, but it's gonna take time." As she said this Lee ran one hand through her hair as the other traced circles on her back.

"First off I need to apologize to you, cause my mother raised me better than how I've been behaving and were she still alive she'd personally kick me in the ass. I'm also tired of our fighting and if time is what you need I'll try to give you that. Just tell me if I'm moving to fast." He replied giving her another hug and then letting her go.

"Thank you. Do you think you could hold me a little longer, I feel safe when you hold me in your arms."

"Sure" Lee replied as Kara settled back into his arms.

They stayed like this for another hour, until they heard the resounding noise of the hatch leading to this locker being opened.

"Are the two of you alright?" asked a slightly worried sounding Adama.

"We will be" Lee replied as he stood up and then turned to help Kara off of the floor.

"Very well then. Lt. why don't you head back to quarters and grab a shower, you're due in the pilots briefing room for a class with your nuggets.

"Yes, sir." Kara replied before turning to Lee "are we gonna be ok?"

"Yeah I think we are." He told and placed a kiss on her forehead before she could leave the locker.

Once Kara was gone the old man turned to his son. "Lee I need you to come with me there are the things we need to discuss."


	17. The Talking Begins

On their way back to his office, Adama asked his son what was going on between him and Kara.

"I think we've come to an understanding," Lee replied, pausing for a moment before going headlong into the subject, "Um, how did you know that mom was the one you wanted to marry?"

"Caroline and I may have had our problems but I fell in love with her the first I saw and met her." Adama replied whilst remembering that particular day. "Why are you asking? Do you think that Kara may be the one?"

"Yeah, dad, I do. Earlier I woke up with Kara in my arms and it felt so right. For the first time in ages, everything seemed almost perfect."

"I'm glad that you've found that someone, but I'd like to give you some advice in light of recent events."

"Sure dad."

"I love Kara like a daughter already as you know and consider her family. I would hope that one day you'll make her an official member of our family. But I would suggest you wait awhile before proposing."

"I agree. I will ask her one day, that is if I ever find a ring." Lee added the last sentiment sheepishly.

"Well, I can help you with that."

"You can?" Lee asked confused.

Adama smiled as they entered his quarters. "When your mother and I became engaged, I gave her the ring that my father gave my mother. After you were born your mother stopped wearing it. She was afraid it would get damaged, so she gave it back to me for safe keeping and, I think, secretly in hopes that you would someday give it to the woman you love." Adama finished by pulling a ring box from the locked drawer in his desk.

Turning back to his son, he presented the open box, "This belongs to you now. I wish you the best."

Lee swallowed hard as he took the box, carefully inspecting the content. The dark lighting in the room didn't prevent the precious white metal from shining brightly. Looking closer Lee saw it was knitted by an ancient Caprican tribesman. He'd remembered one an old girlfriend had, how hers had been a family heirloom, and had given him tells to look for at the Caprican markets that were notorious for selling knockoffs.

There was no question the ring he was holding was genuine

"I, uh," realizing he was at a loss for words, he simply smiled, "thank you" Lee closed the box and slipped it into his pocket.

It was time to get down to business.

"I'm sure you have more pressing matters to discuss with me than my relationship with Kara."

At the mention of the more serious matter at hand the light left Adama's eyes and a grim look settled on his face. "Several things have transpired over the last few hours. I'm sure you heard the alarm claxons go off."

"We figured something went belly up."

"Yes and no. It would seem that Lt. Agathon has found his way home to the fleet..."

"Are we talking Boomer's ECO?"

"Yes…"

"That's good news isn't it?"

"He brought back an unexpected guest with him. It seems while on Caprica he was tricked by a human model cylon. She's a copy of someone he knows, so he trusted her. Only to later realize the truth. However, when he went to kill she informed him that she is pregnant with his child…"

"And he believed a frakking toaster?" Lee asked with indignation.

"Well he was right to, according to Dr. Cottle she is roughly 14 weeks pregnant."

"Frak me," Then Lee thought things over for a minute "so who is the cylon? Who fooled him so completely?"

"The cylon is Lt. Valerri, I've already had Dr. Cottle rescan her with the cylon detector and it came back positive. It would seem Baltar's test works; he just lied about the results. Since we don't know if any of the other results were tampered with I'm having Cottle rerun them."

"That's a good plan. Does the rest of the crew know?"

"No, but it's only a matter of time" replied Adama with a sigh of resignation, knowing good and well that things were about to hit the fan in a big way.

Pilot's Quarters

Kara rushed into the bunkroom at full speed, not watching where she was going, and ran straight into Helo. Kara landed on the floor with a resounding thud.

"Frak me, that hurt" grumbled Kara as she got up off of the floor. When Kara looked into her obstacles face her jaw dropped. "Is it really you?"

"Yeah, it's me," replied Karl as he hugged her and then picked her up and spun her around.

"I can't believe it." She said as she hugged him again. When she let go of him she glanced at the wall clock, "frak I'm gonna be late, look Karl I'll catch up with you later. I've got to go teach a flight of nuggets, basic flight."

"You're teaching again?"

"A lot has changed."

"Don't I know it."

Kara turned to him, "I should be done in two hours. Meet me here and we'll go somewhere where we can talk in private." She told him a she struggled to finish buttoning the last of her uniform buttons.

Karl noticed the her cast for the first time, "what did you do?"

"I'll tell you later over some lollipops."

"Deal. See you in two."

Kara gave him a two-finger salute and walked out of the hatch.

Two and a half hours later Kara walked back into the bunkroom totally exhausted. When she looked around she saw Karl lying on his bunk, with an arm covering his face as if he were trying to sleep.

"So, you ready to talk?" Kara asked as she started changing into her tanks and sweat bottoms.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Karl replied slowly getting up from his bunk.

After a few minutes, the two of them left the bunkroom in silence and started walking the causeways of the Galactica. They had been walking for fifteen minutes Kara stopped at a doorway that Karl didn't recognize and went inside.

"So where are we?"

"We're at my favorite spot on this ship." Kara replied as she pulled him further into the room.

Once they finally reached the far wall Kara pulled a large candle out of a hiding spot and lit it. She then went over to the wall and shoved two boxes to the floor, hidden behind those boxes was a small porthole that showed the stars just beyond.

"Wow, nice view," stated Karl as he looked out.

"So not that I'm not happy to see you and all, but how the frak did you get off of Caprica?"

"Long story short, I ran into a cylon copy of Boomer, didn't know she was a cylon, fell in love, got her pregnant, found out the truth about her when the other models came to hunt us down, stole a cylon heavy raider, started jumping and lucked out finding the fleet." Karl stated with relative calm ease.

"Frak and I thought my life was frakked up." Kara answered him. "So what happens now?"

"I'm not sure. I've been asking the Gods how my life has become so frakked. Even though I know what she is, I still love her," he sighed.

"Believe me, you can't help who you fall in love with no matter how frakked up the situation. So does the chief now that Boomer is a cylon?"

"I think the Commander was going to inform him after he finished my debrief. So what's been happening with you?" Karl asked her.

"Well, Lee and I started seeing each other…"

"As in Adama?"

"Yes, as in Adama. We had a huge fight stopped talking, then at after the colonial dance Dr. Baltar" Kara's voice was filled with utter hatred "drugged and raped me, Lee and I fought some more, I beat the hell out of a punching bag and broke all of my fingers" she lifted her casted hand for emphasis "then Lee and I were locked in the remote storage locker for several hours due to a broken lock, we were let out by the old man and I ran into you."

"So you and Lee?"

"Well, we're starting to work our problems out." Kara answered him truthfully, "so what are you gonna do about the toaster and the baby?"

Karl grimaced at her choice of words, "damned if I know. The next steps are out of my hands anyway. Whatever happens is now up to the Commander and the President."

"Well if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks Kara, the same goes for you."

After sometime Kara blew out the candle and the two of them just sat there in silence that was broken on occasion to voice an opinion or thought.


	18. And then there was Dickhead

I hope you guys still remember me or atleast this story. Thanx for your patience, as some of you know I've had some RL issues at home (sick mom) and more. I hope you all enjoy. Also a huge thanks to both Krista (for betaing) and Cathy you both rock for putting up with me

Aleja

Having left Kara's hiding spot Karl walked until he reached the brig. Upon entering he showed the guard a piece of paper from the commander allowing him to visit with Sharon. The guard just nodded at him, having already been informed of this.

As Karl walked he looked into the other cells, Baltar was lying on his side facing the bulkhead with the blankets pulled over him. Then in the next cell over, was Galactica Sharon she was sitting on her bunk with her back against the bulkhead and her knees pulled up to her chest. Tears streaming down her face as she continued to cry.

Then in the last cell sat the woman with whom he'd fallen in love. "Hey beautiful." He told her a he came up to the bars.

"Hi" Sharon replied getting up slowly from her bunk and walked over to the cell bars.

When she got there Karl put his hand through the bar and placed it upon her slightly rounded abdomen, "so what did Cottle say about the baby?" he asked his voice filled with curiosity and aw.

"According to him I'm around 14 weeks pregnant, which we kind of already knew. Plus I got to hear the baby's heart beat during the ultrasound."

"That's great Sharon." Karl replied

"Have they decided what they're going to do with me? Will they let me live along enough to have the baby?" she asked her voice trembling slightly.

"No decisions have been made as of yet. Commander Adama said he'd inform me as soon as something was decided. He and the president would convene soon to make a decision."

Karl took a breath before continuing "I explained your position to the Commander, how you are now a target to the other cylons because you are carrying my child. I also told him that you would be willing to help in any way that you could for both your safety and the baby's."

"Thank you." Sharon replied.

"You don't have to thank me." Karl said softly taking his hand off of her stomach, kissing it and pressing his fingers first to her lips and then to her belly.

Colonial One

"Madam president" Adama said to Rosiln as he entered her office.

"Please have a seat," she said pointing to a chair before sitting down herself. "So Commander what seems to be the problem…?"

Mess Hall

Lee had just sat down at an empty table when Kara plopped down in the seat across from him after letting her tray fall onto the table. He smiled at her, before continuing to eat. After a few bite Lee looked back up at Kara "we need to talk later."

"If it's about Karl, I already know. He and I had a very long chat earlier."

"So he told you everything?"

"Pretty much. He told me what happened to him and I told him what's been going on here and all about this." She replied lifting her casted arm momentarily. So do you know what's gonna happen?"

"About her? No. Dad left for Colonial One an hour ago, so we'll probably find out when he gets back."

"Fair enough, so what did you do after the Ole Man let us out of that locker?"

"We discussed what's been happening, he asked how things were between us, and I told them we were taking things slowly. Then after we finished that I went to my office, redid the flight schedule and worked on paperwork that I have been neglecting."

"Sounds better than what I had to deal with for 2 ½ hours of my afternoon."

"Was the nugget class that bad?"

"Did you skinny dip in the academy pool on a dare?"

"So what was the problem?"

"They're frakking useless. I've been going over the concepts of basic flight with them for damn near a month now and they still don't frakking get it." She grumbled. "It's not like I want them to become brain surgeons for frak's sake, I just want to get them in the frakking air."

"You'll manage it."

"Before or after I kill them."

"Do you want me to sit in on your next class?"

"Sure maybe you can think of something that will make them get basic flight into their heads."

When they were both done eating they put up their trays and headed for the observation deck together. Cuddling up together on the couch, they sat and looked out at the stars.

Pilots Briefing Room

Two days later Lee took a seat in the back of the briefing room. As he sat in the corner he contemplated how bad this batch of wanna be pilots could really be. But before he could think about it any more the nuggets started filling into the room.

"Great another day listening to that bitch prattling on about stuff she probably learned from a book." One of the nuggets exclaimed as he took a seat.

"Mitchell, why don't you just shut the frak up and quit giving her such a hard time."

"Why should I? She has no right to be here and neither do you. The only thing either of you will ever be good for is a quick frak and possibly popping out a couple of bastards. Got that Sanchez"

Whilst they argued the rest of the nuggets just sat around purposefully avoiding any involvement. Suddenly Sanchez jumped up and yelled "Attention on Deck" immediately everyone except Mitchell jumped out of his or her chairs.

"You waiting for a special frakking invitation Mitchell?" Kara asked getting into his face.

"No" He replied.

"That's no SIR. To you."

"Whatever."

"At ease." She said turning to the others before she turned back to Mitchell "And you." She said as she pointed to him " have just earned your call sign. From now on you'll be known as Dickhead."

Several people in the room to snickered at this, including Lee who was still sitting in his hiding spot in the back of the room.

"You cant do that!" He protested.

"Yes I can. I'm your flight instructor, I get to pick your call sign."

Kara started the day's class, but the tension remained. Over the next hour, Lee had a difficult time keeping his emotions in check, due to the cocky bastard whom Kara had dubbed Dickhead. He could also see that Kara was becoming more and more frustrated with him. Finally Kara snapped.

"What is your frakking problem Mitchell? You've been giving Sanchez a hard time and you've been riding my ass since the first day of class, what gives?"

"You, that's my frakking problem. How can they expect some bitch to teach us anything about flying? The only thing you or any other female are good for is a quick frak in some dark storage closet."

"Oh really. If that is the case, then how come I'm the best frakking pilot in this fleet?" Kara countered tying to control what little was left of her temper. "Or how come I have this job teaching worthless little shits like you?"

"Simple you frakked your way up into the job. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if you'd frakked the commander himself to get this job, considering he gives you such special treatment."

Rage boiled through her veins, but before Kara could reply Lee beat her to it. "On your feet nugget," he bellowed as he made his way from the back of the room.

The nugget quickly stood up.

"That is the most blatant disrespect that I have ever heard from anyone to a superior officer. Lt. Thrace is a damn good officer who has worked hard to get were she is. She has also earned the respect of this entire crew, she has saved your collective asses on several occasions because she is the best pilot in this fleet." Lee paused for a moment to collect his composure.

" So let me make something clear right now, if I ever hear anyone disrespect any one of my pilots again, I'll make you wish you'd been on one of the colonies when the cylons attacked."

He then pointed to Mitchell, " You're with me. I believe you have an appointment with the commander."

He turned to Kara "Carry on Lt. Sorry to disturb your class." He then turned around and left with Mitchell following him quietly.

Commander's Office

"You stay here and don't move a muscle." Lee spat out venomously at Mitchell before entering his father's office.

"So what can I do for you?" Bill asked looking at his son.

"Well I've got a special treat for you." Replied Lee in a sarcastic tone. "I've got one of Kara's nuggets standing outside of your door and personally I would love nothing more than to kick his ass out of the nearest air lock."

"Why? What's the problem?" Bill asked his voice full of concern; his son was usually the even-tempered member of the Apollo/ Starbuck duo and for him to be this pissed something was very wrong.

Lee spent the next ten minutes recounting the events from the briefing room, with minimal interruptions from the commander. When Lee was finished recounting the events the commander finally voiced his opinion.

"And Starbuck hasn't killed him yet?" he asked chuckling with disbelief.

"No but it wouldn't have taken much longer. So now what?" Lee asked slightly frustrated.

"Well you're going to send in the boy wonder in and I'll have word with him." Bill replied.

Lee then walked over to the door and led Mitchell inside the office.

Addressing Lee, Adama said, "Capt. you're dismissed. Please carry on with your regular duties. Also please inform Col. Tigh that I will be late relieving his shift due to some disciplinary issue."

Lee stood at attention and performed a crisp salute whilst saying, "Yes sir." He then did an about face and left the office closing the door behind him before heading for the CIC.

Once Lee had left Commander Adama stood up from behind his desk and maneuvered himself around it so that he was standing directly in front of Mitchell. " WHAT THE HELL GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO TALK TO ONE OF MY OFFICER LIKE THAT?" Adama asked the man furiously.

"Women are inferior to men so I have every right to treat that bitch the way I did."

"Wrong frakking answer. The men and WOMEN on this ship have earned their right to be where they are today. They are ALL respected, hardworking individuals males and females alike."

Adama then took a deep breath before continuing; "If you can not behave in a proper military manner then I don't have room for you on this ship."

"What? That is ridiculous! It's that bitch that should leave; she fraks up constantly, she has been in the brig on numerous occasions and according to the rumors she killed some commanders son when she was a flight instructor at the academy because she was incompetent. So how in the hell does she manage to convince everyone to turn a frakking blind eye?"

"For the record Zak wasn't killed because Lt. Thrace's was incompetent, it was an accident. And Furthermore, he was my son."

This comment took Mitchell by complete surprise.


	19. Bang Bang Shots Fired

Life aboard the Galactica seemed to return to normal in the passing weeks with the gossip dying down and new bits of news starting to circulate. Everyone believed that things had returned to normal and in some cases protocols had even become lax. However, for one nugget life became more difficult, since the senior pilots and deck crew had learned of his treatment of Starbuck and the female nuggets in the current class.

The pranks had started off small, with Mitchell's clothes disappearing when he showered thus, forcing him having to go from the head through Galactica's halls and back to the designated bunkroom naked.

However, with each prank the intensity. First there came the nair in his helmet thanks to a few select mechanics who were led by Cally. Thus at the end of a training session when he removed his helmet all of his hair came with it.

The next and most vicious attack to date came when Hotdog had the brilliant idea to convince one of the nurses to pilfer a special odorless ointment out of the Life Station for him. The next day an hour before the nuggets were to start their pre-flight briefing Kat and Constanza snuck into the locker room and found Mitchell's locker. Once they found it they each donned a pair of gloves, removed the jock strap that was hanging inside and applied the odorless ointment to it.

The ointment (Icy Hot) they applied is one that the crew used to treat muscle aches and pains. This particular prank landed Mitchell in the infirmary for several days due to a rash that had settled in his genital area.

CIC

"Commander Adama, Sgt. Prang is on the line for you." Dee stated pointing to the handset closest to the commander.

"Adama" he said after picking up the handset.

"Sir, there has been an incident in the brig your presence is required."

"I'm on my way." Adama replied before hanging up.

At the same time an announcement went out over the ship wide intercom. Emergency Medical teams report to the brig immediately, Emergency Medical teams report to the brig immediately. Lt. Agathon report to the brig, Lt. Agathon report to the brig

Karl and Kara were in the middle of their daily run and had just reached the CIC as the Commander was leaving when they heard the announcement.

"Sir, do you know what is going on?" Kara asked as she and Karl slowed down till they were in step with the commander.

"No, all I know for sure is that there was an incident, so we'll find out together." He stated as the trio picked up the pace to a fast jog and headed off to the brig.

Brig

When they reached the brig it was utter chaos as the medical team seemed to be treating several people. However, Adama saw the Sgt. off to one side and signaled for him to come over

"Sgt. what in the name of the gods happened here?"

"Sir it would seem that Lt. Valerri managed to get her hands on the guard's gun when he delivered the breakfast tray. In the chaos that ensued she wounded Dr. Baltar by taking a shot to a sensitive area of his anatomy according to the medics."

The men in the group winced and Kara started smirking before the Sgt. continued "She then turned the gun on the Caprican model, before turning the gun on herself and firing a single shot at point blank range to the side of her head."

Before the commander could continue his questioning Karl jumped in with a question of his own "Are Sharon and the baby ok, Sgt?" He asked his voice filled with fear.

"According to the medics they are both in good health." Replied the Sgt. trying to reassure the man in front of him.

Karl breathed a sigh of relief at hearing those words.

"Lt. why don't you go join her," Adama said pointing to the Sharon model sitting with the medics.

After speaking with the Sgt. for a few more minutes, Adama ordered sealed off for a full investigation into the incident, so that an event such as this could be avoided in the future. He also said that he would be personally be speaking to the cylon regarding what had happened.

Bill then questioned the medics on the condition of the injured guard before he and Kara walked over to Karl and Sharon. The four of them then went to a near by interrogation room where they could talk privately.

Upon entering the room they each took a seat in one of the chairs that was there.

"So the medics have cleared you?" Kara asked Sharon, trying to combat her own worries, and knowing how important Sharon and the baby were to Karl.

"The medics have given both me and the baby the all clear, we're both perfectly healthy." Sharon replied, breathing out another calming breath. In her mind she'd sent a small prayer to the God or God's above for sparing their lives.

"So would you please tell us what happened in there?" Adama asked Sharon after giving her a few minutes to collected herself.

"Well at 0800 Corporal Banks brought us the breakfast trays that had been brought down from the mess hall. Dr. Baltar received his first, and he immediately started eating. Personally I think he looked like a pig."

Everyone in the room to chuckle for a moment before she continued, "He then moved onto her cell. He opened the slot for the tray in the middle of the door so that he could hand the tray to her, however, as he did this she attacked and disarmed him by pulling him against the bars so quickly that it knocked him out. He never saw it coming."

She paused for a second before she continued, "Is he going to be alright?"

Adama answered her "Corporal Banks will be fine; the medics said he has a mild concussion, and that he should return to duty in a week or so."

After hearing this piece of news Sharon felt a sense of relief course through her body. She continued with her account of what happened "After she had the weapon securely in her hands she released the safety and pointed it straight at Dr. Baltar. She was yelling and screaming at him about how this entire situation was his fault, because he had lied to her."

"She was completely hysterical and then just started shooting. She hit Baltar but I'm not sure where, I think it may have been in the groin area because he collapsed on the ground rolling into a fetal position and groaning."

This caused the two men in the room to grimace "Once he was down she turned the gun on me. She blamed me for ruining everything that she had ever known. I begged and pleaded with her to let me live so that the baby would survive." Sharon stuttered the last part as tears fell down her face and rubbed her stomach instinctively.

Karl took her hand that had been resting on the table and squeezed it encouraging her to continue whilst giving her the strength she needed.

"After several minutes she turned the gun on herself and placed it at her temple, then just as the guards rushed in she pulled the trigger."

"Thank you for telling us what happened" Adama told her with sincerity.

"You're welcome, but what happens to me now?" she asked worried that the would punish her for her copy's actions.

"You didn't do this, and since the brig will be closed until the investigation has been concluded, I'll arrange for you to be placed in one of Galactica's guest quarters. You will have a marine guard posted outside of the door; this will be for everyone's safety."

"Thank you sir." Sharon told him with heart-felt gratitude.

Twenty minutes later Sharon, Karl and an escort of marines headed to one of the more isolated VIP rooms where Sharon would be staying for the foreseeable future.

A.N. Hi all sorry for the delay in this chapter but I had a hard time writing this chapter and having it come out in a way that I like. It has gone through several rewrites and I hope you enjoy.

So please R&R letting me know what you think and where you would like to see this story go and what you would also like to happen next.

Also the next chap is already in the works.

Aleja "Ice"


	20. Harsh Realities & Pleasure

**Author's Note: **Hi all, here is what I have so far. I hope you enjoy, 

looking forward to what you guys think. Also a huge thanks to both Krista for betaing.

I posted this chap in Dec to a couple of places and just realized I hadn't here.

* * *

The lights of the main hanger deck were blazing brightly even though it was only 0100 hours. The night shift was busy maintaining Galactica's Vipers and Raptors. However, up on the catwalk in a slightly darkened corner sat a man who was contemplating everything about his life. Just a few short hours ago he had received news that had made him truly happy for the first time in what seemed like weeks. 

He had officially become a father. But, it seemed that the Gods weren't completely on his side, because after gaining a son he lost the love of his life by her own hand. Slowly his hand drifted down by his side and he picked up another jar of Galactica's finest moonshine; he took a large swig and relished the burn as it blazed down his throat. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there when someone joined him.

"I'd rather be alone" he said, slightly slurring his words and not even bothering to look up.

"Chief, what's wrong?" Cally asked him very worriedly.

"Doesn't matter. Who's watching Boxey?" He asked tersely since he was fairly certain Cally was supposed to be watching him.

"Evans stopped by because she won some candy in a triad game and thought Boxey might like it. I was worried because you hadn't come back yet so I asked her to stay in your quarters with him incase he woke up and needed something."

"Well as you can see I'm just fine."

"No you're not." she replied "If things were fine you'd be in your quarters with that boy you just adopted as opposed to sitting here on this catwalk trying to drink yourself into oblivion."

She paused for a moment to let her words sink in, "So how about telling me the truth."

Galen sat in silence for a few minutes, but eventually the damn holding his emotions in check crumbled into tiny pieces. He let all his pain, anger, and anguish rise to the surface as he bared his soul to Cally. He told her about how he had almost gotten a complete family; he had a ring he was going to propose to Sharon with, and a son that any man would be proud to have. But it had all been an illusion; it turned out that the woman he loved was nothing but a machine. Cally sat quietly listening to him as all his raw emotions came bubbling to the surface.

"That may be the case Chief but that doesn't tell me why you aren't at home with Boxey? I'm sure he's pretty confused and scared right now."

The Chief scrubbed his hands through his hair, "I don't know what to say to him when I see him. How do I tell him that the woman who rescued him from Caprica, that he loved as a mother is a Cylon? That the plans that we had been making are now no longer possible. How doI tell him that?"

"Chief I feel for you, but you still have a family. It may not be the one you had planned on having, but it's still yours. You have a son that loves you and he needs you now more than ever. Plus, if you would open your eyes you would see that there are many people onboard the Galactica who care for you and will help the both of you in any way they can." Cally said, then she kissed him softly on the cheek before sitting down beside him with her hand on his back.

They sat together like that for a long time before finally leaving the catwalk and crossing the hanger deck together. When they reached his quarters he let Cally go in first. The Chief then thanked Evans and she left.

88888 Adama's Quarters 88888888

"So what the frak happened today?" Laura asked Bill.

"The cylon that was Lt. Sharon Valerii shot up the brig this morning before turning the weapon on herself."

"Was anyone injured?"

"Baltar was shot a couple of times but they went right through with little internal damage. According to Cottle's report none of the wounds were serious and he should make a full recovery. As for the Marine guarding the cells he'll be up on his feet relatively soon as well, once he recovers from his concussion," Bill said as he sat down on the couch.

"What about the other cylon? Maybe we should just throw her out of an airlock now."

"No."

"Why not she's a cylon?"

"Because right now we have leverage over her, until her child is born she wont cross us. The other thing to keep in mind is that getting rid of her will affect Lt. Agathon."

"But," she protested, "He's just one man and we're talking about the good of the entire fleet."

"Well that one man's best friend is Kara Thrace. When you add her to the equation it changes everything. The crew may follow me but they worship Starbuck like a hero and as much as she hates the cylons… I know she will stand behind her friend even if it means saving the cylon."

"So?"

"Like I said the crew loves the almighty Starbuck, so they will follow her and Lee will back her up."

"Alright the cylon stays for now. Have you spoken with Chief Tyrol?" she asked compassion filling her voice.

"Yes" Bill said rubbing a hand over his face and then running it through his hair "It seems every time I speak with the man lately I'm bringing him more bad news."

"Didn't you tell him about the young boy?"

"I did. It was good news the adoption went through, but bad news the woman he loved killed herself…I'm getting too old for this; wars if they must be fought should be done so by the young not old codgers one day shy of retirement."

"You're being too hard on yourself Bill" Laura smiled as she sat down next to him and took his hand into her own.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Bill started stroking the back of Laura's hand with his thumb. She looked up in surprise, with a faint smile crossing her lips. They gazed into each other's eyes for several minutes and then Bill bent his head down and captured her mouth with his own. When the kiss finally broke both of them were breathing raggedly from the headiness of the kiss.

"That was amazing" Laura said as she slid closer to him.

"Yes, it was" Bill grinned as he draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her even closer. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Bill did I fight you or push you away when you kissed me?" she asked him.

"No"

"Well, then you should already know the answer to your question" she replied slighly.

"So tell me then, why would you want to be with a wreck of an old man, who doesn't know what he's doing?"

Laura turned to face him, "Bill we are at war and we're all doing the best we can. You're being too hard on yourself. You're human and feeling a lot of pressure these days, but remember you're not alone. Besides, you must know something," she said with a slight smirk, "After all you did have two sons."

She reached up and lightly stroked his face. As she did this he looked into her eyes and saw true compassion shine in them. Laura pulled his face down to hers until their lips met again in a fiery kiss. This time Bill pulled Laura onto his lap and held on for dear life not wanting to let her go. When they finally pulled apart Laura placed her head against his chest and listened to his rapid heartbeat.

They sat like that for a while just enjoying each other's company. An hour or so later Laura slowly got up, "I better go it's getting late."

"You don't have to…" he said as he reached for her hand "You could always spend the night here." Before she could answer him, he pulled her into his embrace and kissed her again, with a desperation that showed her just how much he needed her with him.

When they broke apart Bill led her over to his bed. He cupped her face with his hand and kissed her again, before unbuttoning her blouse slowly. He softly kissed along her jaw line and down her neck before settling on her pulse point. When he unbuttoned the last button he slowly pushed it off of her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. Turning her around slowly he undid the button on her skirt letting it slide down her legs to the floor, where she slowly stepped out of it and removed her heels at the same time. He ghosted his fingers over her shoulders down to her bra, softly kissing her shoulder as he did. His skillful fingers made quick work of her bra and he slowly slid the straps off her shoulders. He placed kisses on the shell of her ear and traveled her neck, while whispering how beautiful she looked.

Sliding his hands down her smooth belly to her waist, he hooked his thumbs into her panties and slowly drew them down her legs. Laura sat down on his bed and said slyly "I think you're a little too over dressed there."

As soon as those words were out of her mouth Bill started to unbutton his uniform top. As he was removing his clothing Laura admired the view as he revealed more of his body to her. When he was undressed he joined her on the bed and pulled her close to him. It didn't take long for their lips to find each other and the kiss to become heated. As he kissed her he let one of his hands roam over her body until it reached her breast. He began to massage it gently until her nipple began to pebble between his fingers; then he started kissing down her body until he reached her breast. He peppered the breast with kisses in a circular fashion until he arrived at the nipple. He began to suckle on vigorously causing Laura to moan and twist her body under him in pleasure.

As her pleasure increased Laura twined her fingers through his hair encouraging him to continue. Within minutes he switched breasts not wanting the other to feel neglected. When Laura thought she would go mad with the pleasure of it, he kissed his way back up her body and she spread her legs until his body was resting between her thighs. As he reached her mouth he slowly kissed her as his hard erection began to enter her soft warm passage. The rhythm started out slowly and grew faster and more demanding as the sensations and feelings began to increase until they reached their peak together and jumped off. They rode the currents of pleasure until they subsided and the two of them drifted off to a peaceful sleep in each other's arms.

888888 The Chief's quarters 8888888

After Evans left the Chief's quarters, Cally suggested that he take a shower before she left so Boxey wouldn't find him smelling of moonshine in the morning. While the Chief took a shower Cally sat down on the couch and looked around the room. Eventually her gaze returned to the small table in front of her that had several papers and colored pencils on it. Carefully she picked up the papers and looked at the pictures that had been drawn on them. The first picture was of three figures standing together, holding onto each other; the figures in the picture were Galen, Sharon and Boxey.

She was still holding the picture when the Chief emerged from the shower, freshly scrubbed, somewhat sober, and wearing only a towel. She glanced up and quickly set the picture on the table, somewhat haphazardly when she heard the door open. She looked up to see the Chief in that very tiny towel and her mouth went dry. "I'll be going," she stammered out, feeling the blush creep up her neck and color her cheeks.

The Chief saw the picture she had laid down and said softly, "Boxey drew that yesterday, his idea of the perfect family."

"I figured as much, I'm sorry," she whispered, still trying to find her voice with the Chief standing half naked in front of her.

"Don't be sorry. I had some time to think while I was in the shower. I loved Sharon, I loved her with all my heart, but what I loved was a fantasy. The woman I loved didn't really exist, she was a machine. It infuriates me, it makes me sad, but drowning my sorrows in a bottle of moonshine isn't going to change what she was or bring her back. I need to focus on the here and now, and right now I have a little boy sleeping in there that thinks I'm the world. And to him, right now, I am. Not to mention all the friends you reminded me about, especially you, Cally."

"Me?" she squeaked out, as he moved a step closer to her with a predatory gleam in his eye.

"You," he said softly, almost like a caress.

She took a step back, her heart starting to pound, "Why me?"

He took another step closer and her breath caught in her throat. He just looked so, manly, she finally thought, standing there in just that little towel. His dark hair was still wet and messy from the shower. There was a trail of dark hair that started at his navel and dipped below the towel, and beads of moisture that clung to his skin in all the right places. She swallowed nervously and took another step back as he began to speak again.

He smiled an almost paternalistic smile and then said, "Cally, I know everything that happens on my flight deck. You don't think I know that you watch me every spare chance you get. You don't think I see you in the bathroom, glancing my way at the most opportune times. Think I missed the looks you send my way in the mess, before you return to studying your food. I see it all, Cally, and I've been an idiot not to recognize it before. I've been grieving over a machine when there is a flesh and blood woman right in front of me. I'm such a fool, but no more."

Cally took a deep breath, feeling her heart race a little faster and she stuttered out nervously, "I- I don't know what you're talking about, Chief."

He advanced on her again, smiling down at her, "Oh, I think you do, Cally. I think you do."

She took another step back and found herself backed against the wall. Watching him advance on her like a cat on a mouse, she thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest. How could he know how she felt, she'd been so careful to try and hide it, but somehow he knew. She cautiously licked her lips, her little pink tongue darting out of her mouth quickly.

The Chief took another step forward and he was there, inches away from her. He watched her tongue dart out and moisten her lips in anticipation. He placed his hands gently on her shoulders, radiating heat through her coveralls. "I've been waiting a long time to do this," he growled, before bending down and capturing her lips with his own.

Her eyes grew wide at the kiss and she brought her hands up to his chest, initially meaning to push him away but then he squeezed her shoulders and pulled her closer, causing her to gasp in surprise and let his tongue into her mouth. He slicked his tongue inside, gliding alongside hers. He released her shoulders only to wrap her in his arms and pull her even closer.

Cally leaned into the kiss, feeling her heart start to race. She stopped pushing his chest and slid her hands tentatively down to wrap around his waist just above that incredibly tiny towel. She felt his hand come up and twine in her hair tilting her head as he broke the kiss. Feeling the soft kisses he placed along her jaw line, she let out a pleasurable moan, "Oh, Chief."

He grinned at her little noise and then found her pulse point. He sucked the tender skin into his mouth, lightly nipping it with his teeth, but not hard enough to leave a mark. He brought his hands back to her front and started unzipping her coveralls. He quickly had them unzipped to the waist and was pushing them off her shoulders. She let go of his waist to shrug out of the coveralls before grabbing him again.

He cupped her face with his hands before searing her with another kiss. She felt the intensity of the kiss burning through her; it was like a desperate need that both of them shared. She felt his tongue slick up against her teeth and probe her mouth. He ghosted his hands down her arms, his thumb lightly grazing the curve of her breast. She ached for him to touch her, to feel his hands on her breasts.

He must have read her mind, because before she knew it, he was tugging at the hem of her tanks and pulling them over her head. The Chief gazed at the woman in front of him, drinking in her beauty. He had to admit; even Sharon hadn't been this beautiful. Amazing what those coveralls had a tendency to hide. Slowly, he reached out to cup her breast, feeling its fullness in his hands.

Cally moaned and arched into the Chief's hand, the sensation of her breast in his large calloused palm sending jolts of electricity through her body. She almost jumped when his thumb grazed over her nipple bringing it to a tight peak. "Oh Gods, Cally, you're so beautiful," he rasped huskily, before bending to take her nipple into his mouth.

He engulfed that turgid peak in the searing heat of his mouth, tonguing it ever so gently. Her hands flew up to his head, sifting through his hair and trying to hold him in place. But before she was ready he switched to the other breast, taking that nipple into his mouth as well. He lightly flicked the first nipple with his fingers, feeling her shudder underneath his touch.

The jolts of sensation Cally was feeling in her breasts were making her ache with need; she could feel the wetness of desire start to seep out of her. She longed for the Chief to be inside her, filling that aching area. In an attempt to speed things along, she started toeing off her boots. She slipped her hands between them and unzipped her flight suit a little further until she could wriggle her hips out of it. The flight suit dropped down to the floor where she quickly stepped out of it and kicked it aside.

Noticing the flight suit was gone; the Chief let his hands drift down to her military issue gray panties. He slid his hands inside and cupped her perfect bottom in his large hand. Squeezing gently, he elicited a pleasurable moan of surprise from the woman in his arms. He switched nipples again, taking the first one back into his mouth, grazing it lightly with his teeth before nipping down on it gently.

"Oh Gods, Chief," Cally sighed, as she slid her hands down the back of his towel, causing it to loosen and fall to the floor.

She could feel his large erection pressing into her so she reached down and grasped him in her tiny little hands.

The Chief growled out in relief, "Oh Gods, yes, Cally."

She encircled his penis with her hands and lightly started stroking him, feeling him pulse and throb with her touch. Getting caught up in the excitement, he ripped her panties away from her and pulled her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing herself against his erection, wanting him to be inside.

He gripped her legs and then looked at her, "Is this what you want?"

She nodded quickly, and then answered, "Is it what you want?"

"Cally, you have no idea," he grinned, as he entered her in one slow strong push.

"OH," she groaned as she felt his powerful member breach her entrance and slide home. She felt her back against the wall start to move as he started to thrust inside her. Gripping his back tightly with her arms and legs, she tried to match him thrust for potent thrust. "Oh Gods, yes, Chief, YES!" she cried out, as each thrust seemed to hit that one perfect spot both inside and out.

She ground her hips into his, dug her heels into his waist, as if trying to draw him further up and further inside her. She could feel her nerves tingling all over and she knew orgasm wasn't far behind.

The Chief slammed into Cally, relishing the feel of her velvet heat surrounding him, feeling her muscles clench each time he withdrew, only to welcome him back in a second later. When she threw her head back against the wall he leaned in to suck her pulse point into his mouth again, only to have her bring her head back and press her lips greedily to his. He opened his mouth, feeling her quick little tongue slip inside to explore. Reciprocating, he glided his tongue in to do a little exploring of his own. And then her muscles were clenching again and he knew she was close. He started circling his hips with each thrust, trying to give her just the right contact to send her over the edge.

Cally gasped into the Chief's mouth when he started circling his hips, each rotation hit her clit just so and she could feel her orgasm thundering forward. "YES!" she yelled out bucking against him feeling her nerves start to explode inside her. Her orgasm thundered over her, breaking like a rain shower sending nerve impulses throughout her body, making her toes tingle. She squeezed the Chief's shoulders as her muscles clenched convulsively around him.

He felt her crash into her orgasm, felt the powerful storm as it pulled her away. The feeling of her muscles clenching around his penis were enough to send him into his own thundering orgasm. He felt his muscles clench and then spurt his seed up into her. He gripped her buttocks with bruising force as he continued thrusting while she milked him dry. She collapsed against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

He kissed her hair and whispered, "Gods, Cally, that was amazing."

He held her against him as he walked her over to a chair and sat down cradling her in his arms. The two of them sat like that for several minutes, trying to catch their breath. Ever so often, the Chief would bend down and kiss her hair and whisper, "Thank you."

Cally remained silent, overwhelmed with what had just happened. She and the Chief had just frakked up against a wall, now what? After several more minutes in the Chief's arms Cally slowly untangled her limbs from the Chief and got up. She went over to where her discarded uniform lay, picked it up and slowly started to dress.

The Chief followed Cally and stopped her from putting on her tanks, "Cally, you don't have to leave." She looked at him questioningly. He picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. Once inside he laid her on the bunk. He then crawled between her thighs and spread her legs widely. Before she could protest, the Chief started trailing kisses alternated with licks and nibbles until he reached her core, causing Cally to tremble with pleasure. He then repeated the action on her other thigh, only this time when he reached her core he gently blew on her clit causing her to buck her hips in surprise.

Once he reached his goal he grabbed her legs and hooked them over his shoulders drawing her closer to him, when he had her in the desired spot he bent his head down again and began to lap at her engorged clit. "Oh Gods" Cally groaned in pure delight as she grabbed a hold of his head trying to pull him closer.

The Chief continued to lick, nibble and suck on Cally's clit in an alternating pattern as he slowly took one of his hands and spread her labia. He gradually inserted one finger and began moving it in and out in tandem to the rhythm of his tongue. As Cally began to move her hips against his finger he inserted a second and third finger in quick succession. He could feel her body stretching around his fingers as they started searching for her elusive g-spot with each thrust.

Within several thrusts his fingers had found their mark, "Oh Gods, yes!" Cally kept repeating as her second orgasm approached quickly, whilst the Chief increased the tempo of his fingers. All too soon Cally erupted in an explosive orgasm. When her wet channel started contracting the Chief pumped his fingers into her a few more times before withdrawing them. Moving his body over her, he left her legs over his shoulders and sheathed his rock hard penis in her still convulsing passage.

He began thrusting in and out of her prolonging her still ebbing orgasm. When Cally had recovered her breath somewhat he bent his head down and started kissing her. With each hard powerful thrust, they moved up in the bed from the force.. Within minutes Cally was moving her head from side to side and mewling incoherent words as the sensations of the Chief hitting her cervix and his pelvis hitting all the right spots. She could feel another orgasm building.

Soon Cally's nerve endings exploded causing her to see stars as her orgasm tore through her body; her vaginal muscles began contracting tightly sending the Chief over the edge into oblivion as her body milked him dry of his seed. When they both came down from their highs the Chief rolled off of Cally and pulled her close to him. He pulled the covers around them as they passed out from sheer exhaustion.

The following morning when the Chief rolled over in his bunk, he noticed that he was alone. He got up slowly and got dressed Upon reaching the main room of the living quarters he noticed that both Cally and her clothing were gone.

8888888 Life Station 8888888

As Kara walked through the quiet darkened Life Station, she took a quick look around and noticed the night nurse was busy in one of the rear patient cubicles. Slowly, Kara made her way over to one of the general medication cabinets next to the clean utility room. She carefully opened the hinged door making sure it didn't squeak and then quickly scanned its contents until her eyes fell on the item she was looking for. Kara grabbed it and closed the cabinet door before proceeding until she stopped outside of the cubicle in which Gaius Baltar was currently residing. Taking one last deep breath, she entered. Once inside she took a good look at the man in front of her. She could feel the bile begin to rise in her throat. She started taking quiet steps toward him like a hunter towards its prey and with every step closer, her anger towards this man rose as well.

When she reached his bed she looked down at the pale man in front of her. Suddenly he turned his head and looked straight at her; he was surprised because she was the last person he had expected to come and visit him.

"Lt. Thrace, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?" he asked her cautiously, being the first to break the eerie silence between them.

"I want to know why," was her hushed reply.

"Why what Lt.?" Gaius asked feigning innocence.

"Don't play your frakking mind games with me. I want to know why you did it." Kara said in a vicious whisper.

"Why? The why doesn't matter Lt.," he said sanctimoniously. "It is now in the past, we had sex. It was no big deal, get over it already. Unless of course, you enjoyed it so much you want a repeat."

Upon hearing those words Kara pulled out a syringe, "Do you know what this is" she asked him with an absent look on her face.

"Of course not…" Gaius answered hoping his voice didn't portray the fear he was starting to feel inside.

"Well this syringe is filled with potassium chloride," she told him calmly. "You're a smart man, you should know what that means," she said condescendingly. "But just in case, I'll give you a refresher, if given in high enough doses intravenously it can cause cardiac arrest… in other words all I have to do is inject all of this into your IV and your heart will stop. Do you frakking get?" Kara whispered menacingly at him, getting dangerously close to his face, causing him to shrink away from her.

Kara backed away from him and grabbed his IV tubing, uncapped the needle and inserted the needle into the injection port, "You're a spineless worm who preys on women and you don't deserve to live."

Just as she was about to depress the plunger on the syringe, the curtain parted and Lee came inside.

"Thank the Gods you're here! She's gone completely crazy!" Gaius stammered.

"Shut the FRAK Up!!!!" Lee said in a commanding voice before turning his attention to Kara.

"Kara don't do this, please" Lee begged her. "I know he's hurt you but this wont solve anything, please, just give me the syringe."

"I can't do that Lee, I can't let him hurt me again or any of the other females on this ship. I won't let him put another woman through what he did to me." Kara replied, her voice trembling.

Lee slowly made his way over to Kara, "We won't let that happen, I promise. He'll end up in jail for what he's done to you. Please don't do this, you're not a killer." He said as he finally reached her and pulled the syringe out of her hand. He wrapped his arm around her and led her out of the cubicle.

Slowly they made their way into the main area of the Life Station as Cottle and the night nurse went into Gaius' cubicle. Lee led Kara to one of the empty beds and had her sit down. He sat down beside her and she laid her head on his shoulder. As she finally broke down and cried, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. He could feel her sobs shake both of their bodies.

An hour later Lee walked Kara to the C.A.G.'s office, "Kara, you've got to talk to me, you can't keep doing this on your own. Let me help you" he pleaded.

"I don't know how. I've always been on my own, I'm used to it" she said softly.

"Well you're not alone anymore," he insisted. "I'm here, my father is here for you and so is Helo. We all care about you and to help, if you'll just let us. Just tell me what's going through your mind right now and we'll take it from there."

"That my mother was right, that I deserve whatever happens to me. She told me that I was unlovable and that no man would ever want trash like me" she said, looking at the floor, ashamed to look him in the eye.

"You didn't deserve this Kara, your mother was wrong…" he took Kara's face between his hands and made her look him in the eyes. "I love you Kara Thrace with every fiber of my being. I will love you until the day I die and that is never going to change" he said as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"How can you say that, Lee? I'm a frak up; I screw up everything good in my life. Hell, look at what I did to Zak!"

"Kara everyone fraks up from time to time; hell if I hadn't been a complete and utter dumb-ass none of this would have happened to you. If I had stayed with you that night he never would have raped you… and for the last time Zak's death is not your fault."

She looked at him suspiciously, "What do you mean about none this would have happened if you'd been there?"

"If I had of stayed with you that night Baltar never would have been able to do what he did. I gave him access to you and he used it" Lee whispered, overwhelmed by the guilt he felt.

"Gods, we are both frakked up beyond belief," Kara said with the briefest glimpse of a smile crossing her features.

Lee laughed, "You're right we are but maybe if we take it one day at a time we'll make it" he said as he pulled her to the bunk in the rear of the room. Together they laid down and Kara let Lee spoon her as she settled in his tight embrace. Tonight they would lie there and rejoice being with each other; tomorrow they would face their demons and forge a new future together.


End file.
